 In February 1832 Etty began a campaign of writing to local York newspapers urging the preservation of the walls , and sending donations to various campaigns associated with their retention . Although some local newspapers were now supporting preservation in light of the damage their demolition would do to the tourist trade , many locals — whose lives were made more difficult by living in a walled city with few points of entry — remained hostile to the preservation campaigns . A proposal in 1838 by the York and North Midland Railway to cut an archway through the walls to allow access to a railway station within the walls galvanised Etty , and he delivered two lectures on the preservation of the walls during visits to York in 1838 – 39 , and made four paintings of the Bars . Etty 's words went unheeded and the archway was duly cut in the walls , much to his dismay , although the station was soon moved to its current location outside the walls to allow through the running of trains to both north and south . While the walls were eventually saved in 1889 , many years after Etty 's death , Etty is sometimes credited with their salvation . It is open to debate how significant his part was . Some authors feel that his interventions had no impact and the preservation of the walls was the result of decisions made by the Corporation and lobbying by local newspapers , while others feel that the Corporation would not have made these decisions had Etty and other like @-@ minded dignitaries not put pressure on them to do so . 
