The triple arch beside Barker Tower dates from the Victorian period. It replaced an earlier small defensive gateway known as North Street Postern.

Image 1

Photo as per caption. Opens larger version.
North Street Postern and the view to the northwest along the riverside walk (Wellington Row, with the West Esplanade beyond). The steps at the extreme left hand side of the image lead up to the Wall Walk access ramp on Station Road, near Lendal Bridge.

Image 2

Photo as per caption. Opens larger version.
The north-western elevation of North Street Postern. The road arch in the middle distance is part of Lendal Bridge. Wellington Row (foreground) runs through the arches, then bears left for a few hundred metres to an end-on junction with North Street.

Image 3

Photo as per caption. Opens larger version.
An artist's impression of the River Ouse in York (etching by William Lodge, dated 1678). The Water Tower dominates the foreground (left). North Street Postern is visible on the opposite bank of the river, to the right of Barker Tower (a.k.a. North Street Postern Tower).
©The Trustees of the British Museum (asset no. 115144001 - see footnote 1).

In the 14th century, North Street Postern was a small doorway through the city wall. This doorway was defended by the adjacent postern tower (Barker Tower - aka North Street Postern Tower) and it provided pedestrian access to and from the southwest bank of the River Ouse.

The doorway was enlarged in 1577 to create a 4ft. 9in. wide x 9ft. high gateway that was just big enough to allow the Earl of Huntingdon to pass through while riding his horse (see Image 3).

In 1840, the postern and adjacent sections of the city wall were demolished by the Great North of England Railway Company, who built the current three-arched structure in its place. These new (and relatively grand) arches significantly improved the access between North Street / Wellington Row and the Company’s coal yards, which were located just outside the city walls.

The three arches now span (and add interest to) a pleasant section of York's riverside footpath and cycle route.

Footnotes

[1] This image is a 'derived work' based on a digital image file downloaded from the British Museum's online catalogue, which can be accessed via the following external link:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection
To create the version used on the York Illustrated website, the original image was trimmed, converted to greyscale, the levels were adjusted and the image was resized. The original image and this version are both © The Trustees of the British Museum and both are subject to the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license - see:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/