York's Secret Places

The word 'snickelway' didn't exist until 1983, when local author Mark W. Jones coined it for his hand-illustrated walking guide, blending the Yorkshire dialect words 'snicket' (a passage between walls or fences), 'ginnel' (a narrow passage between buildings), and 'alleyway'. His original route linked 50 of these passages within the city walls.

Many of the alleys follow paths worn by medieval townsfolk moving between homes, markets, and churches, and several still carry the odd, evocative names attached to them over centuries — Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, Mad Alice Lane, and Nether Hornpot Lane among them.

Unlike a single monument, the snickelways are simply an alternative way of moving through the historic core — quieter, narrower, and considerably older-feeling than York's main shopping streets, even though they often run parallel just a few steps away.

Founded in 1686 by Mary Ward's Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary at a time when practicing Catholicism openly was illegal in England, the Bar Convent operated under deliberate secrecy for over a century, disguising its true purpose from the outside world.

Its centerpiece is a beautifully preserved Georgian chapel, built in 1769 with eight hidden exits designed to let occupants scatter and disguise their activity if the authorities ever raided the building — a design detail that speaks directly to how real the danger once was.

The building remains a working convent and heritage site today, run by the Congregation of Jesus, with a café, a small museum exhibition, and rooms available for overnight stays — a rare case of a still-functioning religious community opening its doors to the public.

Built in 1961 at the height of Cold War tensions, this bunker was one of a national network designed to monitor nuclear fallout and radiation levels in the event of an attack, staffed by Royal Observer Corps volunteers who would have worked and slept here for extended periods underground.

Inside, the original control room, communications equipment, and cramped dormitory facilities remain largely as they were left when the bunker was decommissioned in 1991 — a rare, intact time capsule of a threat that never fully materialized.

English Heritage now runs the site as a guided-tour-only visitor attraction, opening only on a seasonal schedule and requiring advance booking, which keeps visitor numbers low even by the standards of an already low-profile site.