Ancient_and_modern_York_a_guide

MODERN YORK. 127
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Several circumstances tend to invest the Yorkshire
Philosophical Society, with a more than ordinary degree
of interest. Recognised by the crown, as the guardians
of the ruins of St. Mary's, a main object of the society,
has been to collect and preserve every relic calculated to
elucidate the history of this great monastic institution.
The Yorkshire Museum stands on the site of a portion of
St. Mary's Abbey; and the beautiful gardens which sur
round it, form the greater part of the ancient close of St.
Mary's Abbey, by the banks of the river Ouse, without
the city wall at Lendal. Almost the first object we
meet with after passing through the Doric gateway of the
Museum gardens, is the celebrated Roman Multangular
Tower, which is included within the gardens. "The outside
of the wall, towards the river, is faced with a very small
saxum quadratum of about four inches thick, and laid in
levels like our modern brick-work. From the foundation,
twenty courses of these small squared stones are laid, and
over them five courses of Roman brick. These bricks are
placed some length-ways, some end-ways in the wall, and
were called lateres diatoni ; after these five courses of
bricks, other twenty-two courses of small square stones,
as before described, are laid, which raise the wall some
feet higher, and then five more courses of the same
Roman bricks ; beyond which, the wall is imperfect, and
capped with modern building. In all this height, there
is not any casement or loophole, but one entire and
uniform wall : from which we may infer, that this wall
was built some courses higher, after the same order.
The bricks were to be as thorough, or a* it were so
many new foundations, to that which was to be superstructured,
and to bind the two sides together firmly; for
the wall itself is only faced with small square stone, and
the middle thereof filled with mortar and pebble. These