The Knavesmire is one of a number of large, marshy undeveloped areas within the city of

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

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, England, which are collectively known as '' Strays''. Knavesmire, together with Hob Moor, comprises Micklegate Stray. The York Tyburn, the site of a

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

administered on behalf of

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

York Castle York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, court, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the north-west side of the River Foss.Coop ...

, was situated in the area adjacent to the

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

Road. It has been suggested that the name 'Knavesmire' may share a derivation with

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish on the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. It is east of Harrogate and was in the Borough of Harrogate until April 2023. History The Knaresborough Hoard, the largest hoard of ...

—Cenward's mire.

History

Situated in the south-west of the city, some distance outside the historic walls, Knavesmire's low-lying position makes it liable to severe

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing in times of heavy rain. As a consequence, it remained undeveloped as the city expanded around it. The Knavesmire was the site of York Golf course for many years. During the Second World War, parts of the Knavesmire were farmed, while other parts were used for military purposes including an anti-aircraft battery and a prisoner of war transit camp which was located near the grandstand. Knavesmire was also the site of Knavesmire Secondary School, which then became one of the campuses of The College of Law till 2014.

Millthorpe School Millthorpe School is a Mixed-sex education, mixed secondary school located in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in South Bank, York, and can be accessed via Scarcroft Road (the A59 road, A59). It is close to two primary schools, S ...

uses the Knavesmire for

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

. Knavesmire Primary School is located on Campleshon Road, at the southern end of Knavesmire Road. In 1864 a letter was sent to the York press from H. J. Jenkinson of the Leeds football club suggesting that the citizens of York form a football team and that they should play a friendly match on Knavesmire. Between 2009 and 2022, it was also home to Yorkshire's largest beer festival. The annual York

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

Beer & Cider Festival was held in a marquee on Knavesmire opposite the Grandstand.

York gallows

For many years, Knavesmire was the site of public

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

s in York. The gallows were erected in 1379, a few miles outside the city on the main southern approach road (now known as the '' A1036 Tadcaster Road''). The execution site was often referred to as "York Tyburn" after the original

Tyburn gallows Tyburn was a manor (estate) in London, Middlesex, England, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. Tyburn took its name from the Tyburn Brook, a tributary of the River Westbourne. The name Tyburn, from Teo Bourne, means 'b ...

in Middlesex. Probably the most famous people to be executed there were

Rhys ap Maredudd Rhys ap Maredudd ( 1250 – 2 June 1292) was a senior member of the Welsh royal house of Deheubarth, a principality of Medieval Wales. He was the great grandson of The Lord Rhys (died 1197), prince of south Wales, and the last ruler of a un ...

, a Welsh nobleman and rebel, hanged in 1292, and

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

, who was hanged in 1739. Catholic priests

Alexander Rawlins Alexander Rawlins (1560 - 7 April 1595) was an English Roman Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929. Life While Richard Challoner says that Rawlins was born somewhere on the border between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, Rawlins stated to the e ...

and Henry Walpole were

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torture, torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of High treason in the United Kingdom, high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convi ...

on 7 April 1595. Another Catholic priest, Nicholas Postgate, was hanged, drawn and quartered there in 1679. One of the last women to be burned at the stake was Elizabeth Broadingham, who had already been killed with her lover, in 1790. By the beginning of the 19th century, it was felt that the gallows did not create a good first impression for visitors to the city. The last hanging at Knavesmire was in 1801, after which the gallows were moved to a more discreet (although still public) location near the castle. A paved area with a small plaque today marks the position in which the scaffold stood.

Current usage

The Knavesmire is used for recreation and for public events. It is a popular site for dog-walking, and a large part of it is occupied by

York Racecourse York Racecourse is a horse racing venue in York, North Yorkshire, England. It is the third biggest racecourse in Britain in terms of total prize money offered, and second behind Ascot Racecourse, Ascot in prize money offered per meeting. It att ...

. The York Races were first moved to the Knavesmire from Clifton in 1731. Since January 2012 it has been the location of the York

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

, a free 5k running event held every Saturday morning. The Little Knavesmire is the home of Ovington CC.

References

{{Parks and open spaces in York Villages and areas in the City of York Parks and commons in York Execution sites in England