St Mary's Church

St. Mary’s Church in Bishophill is instantly recognizable by the weathered masonry of its tower, which features a distinct herring-bone pattern and a lower section built before the Norman Conquest. This structure is the oldest piece of ecclesiastical architecture standing within the city walls of York. Its construction tells a story of recycling from centuries prior, as builders in the tenth century incorporated blocks of brown sandstone, limestone, and Roman bricks salvaged from the ruins of the nearby civil quarter of the Roman garrison.