In his indignation, the King ordered the Earls of Devon and Wiltshire and three other prisoners to immediate execution, in order that their heads might replace his father’s.
“From off the gates of York fetch down the head,
Your father’s head, which Clifford placed there;
Instead thereof, let this supply the room;
Measure for measure must be answered.”
During the great Civil War, the city was besieged by the Parliamentarian forces, and after a blockade of six weeks the Royalists attempted two sorties, both of which were failures. The besieged waited patiently for relief from the bold but erratic Prince Rupert, on whose approach the Parliamentarians retired towards Marston Moor. The Royalist troops passed through Micklegate Bar to meet their foes. In the ensuing battle the Royal forces were completely routed and retreated to York, followed by the Parliamentarians, who, however, were compelled to stay outside Micklegate Bar. The siege was renewed. Subsequently, Sir Thomas Glenham, governor of York, having made good terms, surrendered the city to Lord Fairfax, and the Royalist garrison passed out through Micklegate Bar with colours flying.
The last occasion on which Micklegate Bar was used for the exhibition of rebel heads was during the Jacobite rising of 1745. After the battle of Culloden there were set on this “Traitor’s Gate” two heads which remained for about seven years, when the heads were surreptitiously removed. The culprit was found, and at the Assizes sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, ordered to pay five pounds and to find sureties for his good behaviour for two years.
Bootham Bar protected the road from the north, and owing to continual disputes between Scotland and England, it was always strongly guarded. Whilst King Stephen was engaged in the south of England, the Scots thought it a favourable opportunity to invade England, not taking into account the generalship of the Archbishop. The prelate summoned the barons to York. An army was mustered and after passing through Bootham Bar, met and completely routed the Scots at the battle of the Standard, near Northallerton. In a raid, however, about two centuries later, the
