The significant changes of the past 1000 years that have shaped the area need to be communicated as spatially and visually in the design of the area, but this needs to be done alongside – and where possible through – the personal stories of specific people who died here, were imprisoned here, transported from here, were elected here, voted here or protested here.
For more exploration of the heritage of the area read the Historic England Statement of Significance for the Eye of York.
Bringing the Open Brief to life. In the future, what are people doing?
People can walk the banks of the two rivers, appreciating the historic importance of their confluence in the siting of the first settlements from which York has grown. #GatheringHeritage
People feel they are in the site of the former castle and can see the Southern Gateway and remaining walls (and walk along them), tracing the line in the ground, seeing the link to Baile Hill. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
People can visualise the height and scale of the Prison Walls, experience awe and a slightly uneasy feeling! #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
Realising how many people were executed on this site and contemplating what that means and might mean for thinking about justice today. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
Imagining what it might have been like to hear William Wilberforce speak against the transatlantic slave trade, seeking election as a Yorkshire MP, and reflect on what democracy is and should be today, and how debate is part of that. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
Being drawn into a space that makes you consider power and authority and what makes it legitimate. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
A place for remembering those that died in the South African War through the resiting of the Green Howards South African War Memorial from the roundabout at the end of Skeldergate Bridge and Tower Street into the Castle Gateway Area #Gathering Heritage
Heritage: Design Challenges
- Design of the space should choose appropriate places for articulating the specific stories of that place.
- Articulating the stories and histories should be done in ways – as far as possible – that are built into the environment through spatial design, views and integrated interpretation.
- How might outlines of the different phases of the area – Castle and Prison – be communicated? How might the last bit of wall and the back of the Female Prison be used to prompt the imagination? How might space for reflective remembering be created? How might democracy and its challenges be enacted spatially?