In the beginning of' 1829, an incendiary of the name of Martin, afflicted with religious madness, contrived to introduce himself into the church, and to set fire to it, but the fire was fortunately disco vered before its ravages had become great. The injury, however, which was thus done to the build ing was very great; but the noble liberality of the nobility and gentry connected with the county, is now repairing the desolation which was thus wan tonly committed upon so magnificent a pile.
Besides the cathedral, York contains twenty-one parishes within its walls, and three in the suburbs. The most important of these are All-Saints, with a fine spire; St. Mary'., with a beautiful and lofty spire; All-Hallows, which stands on the highest ground in the city, and has a tower or steeple of exquisite Gothic; St. Dennis, which is a handsome building, and the church of St. Margaret. with its fine porch.
One of the most interesting objects in the city is the remains of the monastery of St. Mary, which is situated under the walls without, and on the north side of the city. The only remains of this magni ficent structure arc a small part of the abbey church or cloister, and some spacious stone vaults.
The castle of York, now the county jail, is about 200 yards from the Ouse. The castle was taken down and the jail built in 1701. The prison for debtors is unequalled in the kingdom. The gaoler's house is on the ground floor, a fine flight of steps leads to the first floor, on which are eleven rooms, each 16 feet square and 12 feet high, and above this is the same number. In the left wing there is an elegant chapel. The male and female prisoners are kept separate.
The basilican, or new county hall, is a superb edifice of the Ionic order, 150 feet long and 45 broad. The court for trying pleas is in the south end, and that of nisi prius in the north end. Each of these is 30 feet in diameter, surmounted with a dome 40 feet high, sustained by 12 Corinthian columns. The entrance is a loggio of six columns 30 feet high. It was first opened at the summer assizes of 1777. The walls of York castle are about 400 yards in circuit. Near the castle is an artifi cial mount about 90 feet above the level of the river, and on the summit of it stands Clifford's Tower, a circular building containing a well of excellent water.
The mansion house, erected in 1725, is a hand some building. Its front is of the Ionic order, and its apartments are spacious and well decorated.
The guildhall, a fine Gothic hall erected in 1446, stands behind the mansion house on the banks of the river. It is 90 feet long, 43 broad, and 30
high.
The assembly rooms in Blake Street, built in 1730, consist of an antique Egyptian hall, after Palladio, 112 feet long, 40 broad, and 40 high. The lower part consists of forty-six rich Corinthian columns, and the upper part is ornamented with rich composite columns.
Magnificent as the buildings are which we have now described, there is one just finished, viz. the Yorkshire Museum, which reflects the brightest honour on the Philosophical Society, and the public spirit of the nobility and gentry by whom it has been reared. It is a noble monument of individual liberality to the intelligence of the age, and acquires double value from having risen at a time when the government of the country, forgetting the true greatness of England, has ceased to protect and en courage the arts and sciences which have so long been the glory of our country.
This building stands in an enclosure of three acres, part of the site of the Abbey of St. Mary, which was granted by his present Majesty in 1827, to the Yorkshire Philosophical Society. The ruins of the Abbey occupy the side of the enclo sures; the Roman multangular tower and ancient city walls separate it from the city to the south east. On an eminence in the centre, the museum rears its noble front, looking down upon the river, and to the extensive landscape beyond. The en trance to the grounds from the city is by a Doric gateway. On either side of the walk leading thence to the museum, the ground is appropriated to a botanic garden; the remainder of the enclosure is planted.
The front of the museum extends 102 feet, and was designed by William Wilkins, Esq. In the centre is a portico of four Grecian Doric columns, (3 feet 6 inches diameter, and 21 feet 6 inches high) extending 35 feet, and projecting 10 feet, with bold steps all round it. The space on each side of the portico, which is terminated by an ant pilaster, has three windows, ornamented by suitable archi traves. A bold massive Grecian pediment is sup ported by the columns, and the entablature con tinues the whole length of the front, and returns round the ends of this building, which is about 24 feet wide. These ends have ant pilasters at each angle, supporting a massive architectural screen to the roof, imitated from the choragic monument of Thrassyllus, at Athens. The whole of this build ing is faced with Hackness stone, a fine variety of the Kelloway rock from the quarries of Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., the gift of the munificent proprietor.