The Snickelways of York, often misspelt Snickleways, are a collection of narrow streets and

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane ...

s in the city of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England. The word ''Snickelway'' was coined by local author Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book ''A Walk Around the Snickelways of York'', and is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsginnel'', a narrow passageway between or through buildings, and ''alleyway'', a narrow street or lane. Although the word is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

, it quickly became part of the local vocabulary, and has even been used in official council documents, for example when giving notice of temporary footpath closures.

Definition

The snickelways themselves are usually small paths or lanes between buildings, not wide enough for a vehicle to pass down, and usually public Rights of way in England and Wales, rights of way. Jones provides the following definition for them: York has many such paths, mostly

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, though there are some modern paths as well. They have names like any other city street, often quirky names such as Mad Alice Lane, Nether Hornpot Lane and even Finkle Street (formerly Mucky Peg Lane).

''A Walk around the Snickelways of York''

In 1983 Jones devised a walk taking in 50 snickelways within the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. His book, ''A Walk around the Snickelways of York'', soon became a local bestseller. It was unusual in being completely hand-written rather than using typeset printed text, with hand-drawn illustrations, a technique which Jones acknowledged as inspired by the '' Pictorial Guides'' of

Alfred Wainwright Alfred Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991), who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'', published ...

. At least nine editions of the book have been published, each revision incorporating necessary changes, such as the closure of snickelways which were not public rights of way or the opening of new paths. The popularity of the book led to the author being called to present talks on the Snickelways, complete with a slide show. This in turn led to the publication in 1991 of an expanded, hardback book, ''The Complete Snickelways of York''. This combined the original hand-written text with printed text and photographs. It also included information about Snickelways and other footpaths in the suburbs of York.Jones, Mark W. ''The Complete Snickelways of York''

Gallery

Image:Hole-in-the-Wall - 2007-04-14.jpg, The shortest Snickelway, Hole-in-the-Wall, after the adjacent pub, which may be named after the nearby

Bootham Bar York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Wal ...

. Image:Coffee Yard - 2007-04-14.jpg, Coffee Yard is the longest Snickelway - nearly long. Image:Mad Alice Lane - 2007-04-14.jpg, Mad Alice Lane (also known as Lund's Court) – reputedly named after a woman hanged for poisoning her husband.Virgin Trains Hotline magazine — April–June 2007 Image:Pope's Head Alley - 2007-04-14.jpg, Pope's Head Alley – only wide. File:Snickleway inn 8705.jpg, The Snickleway Inn uses the word for a small lane but is actually on

Goodramgate Goodramgate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. History The area now covered by Goodramgate lay within the walls of Roman Eboracum. The street runs diagonally across the line of former Roman buildings, from the Porta Decumana ( ...

File:Lady Peckett's Yard Entrance - 2007-04-14.jpg, The entrance to Lady Peckett's Yard, leading through the buildings to the right of the shop File:Finkle Street - 2007-04-14.jpg, Finkle Street, its name possibly derived from

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

or Danish words meaning angle or bend

Definition

''A Walk around the Snickelways of York''

Gallery

See also