What is the space now?
This area is enclosed by York Crown Court and York Castle Museum, made up of the Debtor’s Prison and the Female Prison. It currently has a roughly-circular grass area with a tree located centrally, and a tarmac road around this providing service access to the Museum and the courts. Outside this are paved areas, raised to form plinths to the court and female prison.
What did the Castle Gateway Masterplan / York Castle Museum masterplan say?
- The current entrance to the York Castle Museum will go and a new entrance through from the southern side of the Castle Museum will be opened up for public access
- A wall walk of the Castle walls will enable people to make sense of the Castle area
- A new entrance to the Debtor’s Prison will be created for York Castle Museum visitors
- The Crown Court will continue to be there, it needs to have vehicle access to the court and for there to be no loud noise during the day
In the future Eye of York, what are people doing?
Scouts and Guides are gathering for the St George’s Day parade. #GatheringPlace
People with placards make their way there for as the rally point for demonstrations. #GatheringPlace
People draw on the histories of elections and protests within the area to debate and discuss current issues. #GatheringPlace
The authority of the prison and court buildings are both acknowledged and softened by people coming to the area to read, picnic and play. #GatheringPlace
Families and groups are unfurling blankets and laying out their picnics. #GatheringPlace
People sit comfortably and admire the different views of all the buildings surrounding this space #GatheringPlace
Parents relax while they sit and picnic because there is space which can be clearly defined for their children as they play #GatheringPlace #GatheringPlayfully
People explore the histories of the Prisons and Court, they look at the visible graffiti from prisoners and they get a strong feeling of the specific people who were imprisoned here, were hanged or were sentence to transportation. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
People on foot can easily pass through the area and onwards towards Castlegate or the Coppergate Centre, with routes being clear. #GatheringPlace #GatheringOnTheMove
Hanging out here at night here is magical with subtle lighting, pop up food vans and acoustic music. #GatheringPlace #GatheringAtNight
Coming together for amplified music and theatre performances against the backdrop of Clifford’s Tower and the Court and Prison buildings. #GatheringPlace #GatheringAtNight
Visitors to the museum easily navigate toward the entrance to the Debtor’s Prison. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
People – including people with buggies and who use wheelchairs – move along the Castle walls with views that make sense of the city defences and of the shape of the Castle. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage #GatheringOnTheMove
People enjoy the peace because electrical infrastructure is built in so there is no need for pop up vans or performances to use generators. #GatheringPlace
People visit the Last Drop – the last place people in York were hanged – and it acts as a place for reflection and remembering. #GatheringPlace #GatheringHeritage
The Eye of York: Design Challenges
The design of this space needs to respond to various challenges:-
- The presence of the court imposes some restrictions on activities during operation – at weekday daytimes – which don’t apply at other times. The design of the space therefore needs to allow for quieter use such as sitting or picnics and children’s play, and for the potential for larger, noisier events such as performances or background music for gatherings.
- It is a space with various movement routes between buildings and connections to onward routes to neighbouring areas, but also a space that invites lingering and appreciation of the architecture and setting. The design needs to allow for these to coexist.
- The single tree in the current central grass was noted by many as being “in the wrong place” and there was more support for removal of this tree than for others. However the general wish for landscaping and trees poses specific challenges here in respect of being balanced against maintaining views towards the buildings.
- The enclosed nature of the space and the fact that it is more of a destination than a route (and this will largely remain the case even with the proposed new opening in the walls) makes it attractive as a place where children can play and hence families can spend time. The design challenge this creates is in providing appealing opportunities for play within an area that can be clearly defined, while satisfying other aspects of the brief.
- The current perimeter road provides service access for the Museum and vehicular access for the court. This also tends to attract other vehicles which can conflict with pedestrian use of the space. Future design of vehicular access should largely exclude vehicles, responding to wishes to increase pedestrian use while allowing vehicular access only when strictly required.