Lady Peckett's Yard

It was weird weather in York yesterday, warm but sporadically rainy and very grey. I had to go in to town to the bank, and walked past the entrance to another of York's snickelways, Lady Peckett's yard, on my way. I nipped down it to take this photo, and stayed there for a few moments looking around and feeling like I was back in time. The grey weather contributed to the atmosphere. (I would however have dearly loved to have moved those bins in the background, out of the photo, but they were too big and heavy, with no where else for them to go!)

This snickelway was once called Bacusgail (1312) or Bakehouse Lane. but was later renamed after the wife of a former Lord Mayor of York.

Penny Lane

This is one of York's snickelways, called Penny Lane, which I nipped through today taking a short cut across the town centre. I love the medieval brick on the left, and the wavy line of the Victorian wall on the right.

Having just looked Penny Lane up in Mark W Jones' Snickelways of York book, I've found out there are supposed to be hub-height indentations in the walls made by the wheels of hand carts people once used to wheel through here. I can't see any on my photo, so will have to go back for another look!

York's Snickelways

On the first day of the month, the City Daily Photo blogs participate in a theme day, and this month, it is "paths and passages." I couldn't possibly not participate.

York is celebrated for its passageways, and being an ancient city, it is full of them, some very old and winding, leading between the main streets of the town and providing handy short cuts for those in the know.

In York these passageways have a name all of their own: snickelways, a word coined by the author of the book picured above, bringing together the words snicket, ginnel and alleyway. It caught on very rapidly, and is now a word in current wide use here, whether people are familiar with the book or not!

There are so many snickelways in York, some of them spooky, some plain, some ancient, some modern, that I couldn't decide which one to photograph. In the end disorganisation made my choice as I only remembered to do it at the last minute when I was already waiting for my bus to go home. So the pictured snickelway below is the one next to my bus stop! I've never been down it so I don't know where it goes, but I do like its name: Black Horse Passage.



Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the City Daily Photo Blogs Theme Day.