Photo story: Tap and donate to support the conservation of York’s city walls

A new scheme to help generate funds to support the conservation of York’s much loved medieval walls is now underway.

City of York Council is custodian to most of the listed buildings in York and is a guardian of York’s heritage.  

With nearly 2,000 years of history contained in the city walls, they are the most significant of its heritage assets.

A new pilot ‘tap and donate’ scheme, initially located at Bootham Bar, encourages those who enjoy the walls to help pay for their vital upkeep and development.

Cllr Pete Kilbane, Deputy Leader of City of York Council, said:

“Our specialist Ancient Monuments team carry out important conservation work on the walls, from day-to-day maintenance and monitoring to pointing and stone replacement. York is one of the only Councils in the country that has its own inhouse stonemason’s team looking after the heritage assets that make our city so special”

 “It currently costs York Council taxpayers between £500 to £600k per annum to maintain the city’s walls. If just 5 per cent of the 2.5m visitors, who every year enjoy the Walls, donate just £5 it would raise £625k and help ensure they continue to be well maintained for millennia to come.”

Tap and Donate donation points are now located in Bootham Bar, where visitors can donate either £3, £5 or £10 via a debit or credit card. Donations can also be made online.

For more information, or to donate, visit: www.york.gov.uk/YorkWallsDonate