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Snickelways and Walls: Walking York’s Passages

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When I was growing up I used to play in Alleyways -- but York has Snickelways, which are more than just alleys. Snickelways are narrow passages between buildings that locals use to take shortcutes to navigate the city faster. And York's still-standing walls are, perhaps, its largest Snickelway.

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Cheryl

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When I was a kid, in the days when kids spent bored Summer days playing outside, I spent some time lurking in neighborhood alleyways. Inventing clubs, playing hide-and-seek, and sometimes being up to no good made long Summer days with nothing to do pass quickly. When I visited York, I imagined all of the mischief I could have managed there with York’s many snickelways as my stomping grounds.

What is a Snickelway?

What’s a snickelway? York’s medieval city layout means that many narrow passageways between the buildings exist. These became known as the Snickelways of York.

“Snickelway” sounds like it could be a charming Old English word or something from Harry Potter. And some of the Snickelways have names that tickle my muggle sense of humor (Nether Hornpot Lane, for one.) Therefore, I was a little disappointed to find that (at least according to the venerable Wikipedia,) author Mark W. Jones coined the word. And not in The Year of Our Lord 1600 but 1983 CE.