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York

Cathedral and industrial city and administrative headquarters of York unitary authority in northern England, on the River Ouse; population (2001) 137,500. It was the administrative headquarters of the county of North Yorkshire until 1996. Industries include tourism and the manufacture of scientific instruments, sugar, chocolate, and glass. Founded in AD 71 as the Roman provincial capital Eboracum, York retains many of its medieval streets and buildings and much of its 14th-century city wall; the Gothic York Minster, England's largest medieval cathedral, includes fine 15th-century stained glass. The city is visited by some 3 million tourists a year.

Features

The south transept of the York Minster was restored following severe damage caused by a fire in 1984. Four gates or ‘bars’ of the city wall survive, as well as the medieval streets including the Shambles. The Jorvik Viking Centre (1984) contains wooden remains of Viking houses. Other features include the Theatre Royal, site of a theatre since 1765; the Castle Museum; the National Railway Museum; and York University (1963).

History

Recent excavations of the Roman city have revealed the fortress, baths, and temples to Serapis and Mithras. The Roman missionary Paulinus became the first archbishop of York in 633. In 867 it became the Viking settlement of Jorvik. Later, under the Saxons, it became known as Eoforwick. During the Middle Ages it was important in the wool trade. An active Quaker element in the 18th and 19th centuries included the Rowntree family, which founded a chocolate factory. In the 19th century it developed as a railway centre. Britain's last train-building factory closed in 1995.

York Minster It is thought that a wooden chapel was erected on the site of the present Minster in 627 for the baptism of King Edwin of Northumbria. A Norman structure was begun in about 1080, but the oldest surviving part of the present building dates from about 1220, and the central tower was completed in 1472. The cathedral's fine stained-glass windows include the ‘Five Sisters’ in the north transept, and the Great East Window dating from 1405, thought to be the world's largest medieval stained-glass window. The octagonal Chapter House, dating from about 1260 to 1300, has no central supporting column. The choir screen, dating from the late 15th century, depicts kings of England from William I to Henry VI.

Churches All Saints' Church (North Street) has 14th- and 15th-century glass and a graceful spire; All Saints' (in Pavement) is the only church in York to have a lantern tower. The last to be built before the Reformation, St Michael-le-Belfry (1535), has in its register an entry recording the baptism in 1570 of Guy Fawkes, the conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot. St Olave's Church was established in the 11th century and contains 15th-century stained glass. The 15th-century Holy Trinity (Goodramgate) has foundations dating back to the 12th century.

Schools St Peter's School is one of the oldest private schools in England, and has claims to link it with the school of St Peter founded in 627. There are two Society of Friends' (Quaker) schools; the Mount School for girls (1785) and Bootham School (1823), formerly a boys' school but now co-educational.

Architectural features The medieval Guildhall, built in 1448, was destroyed by bombing in 1942, but was restored to its former state in 1960. Three other guildhalls remain: the Merchant Adventurers Hall, built by York's most powerful guild which in the 15th–17th centuries controlled the export of cloth from the north of England; the Merchant Tailors' Hall which has a 17th–18th-century exterior and a 14th-century roof; and the 15th-century St Anthony's Hall.

The city walls, built on earlier foundations, extend for 4.4 km/2.7 mi, and date mainly from the 14th century, although the gates include Norman work. The four main gateways or ‘bars’ are Walmgate Bar, Bootham Bar, Monk Bar, and Mickelgate Bar. Walmgate retains its barbican, whilst Bootham and Monk each has its portcullis. Micklegate was the chief of the four gates and on it was impaled the head of Richard of York in 1460.

The basement of the Yorkshire Museum incorporates the chapter house and fireplace of the Benedictine St Mary's Abbey (founded about 1080). In the gardens of the museum are more remains of the Abbey, including the ruins of the church (1259) and gatehouse. Clifford's Tower (1245–1262) is all that remains of York Castle. It was built to replace the wooden tower built by William the Conqueror which was destroyed in 1190 when, during anti-Jewish riots in the city, 150 members of the Jewish population were put there and took their own lives by setting fire to the tower rather than fall into the hands of the mob. The network of narrow medieval streets in the centre of York includes Stonegate, and the Shambles, the street of the butchers. The Shambles includes the house of Margaret Clitherow who was martyred in 1586 after being accused of providing a refuge for Jesuit priests; the house has been restored by Catholics of York as a shrine.

Museums and galleries The Yorkshire Museum contains fine archaeological, natural history, and geological collections. There is a richly stocked Roman gallery as well as Anglo-Saxon and Viking relics. The City Art Gallery contains a large collection of European paintings, including the Lycett Green collection of old masters, which provides a continuous series of examples of the development of European art. The Castle Museum, occupying two former prison buildings built in the 18th century, is a folk museum which includes reconstructed 19th-century streets. The Jorvik Viking Centre, opened after excavations at Coppergate (1976–81), depicts life in York in the time of the Vikings and displays the archaeological remains discovered during the excavations. The National Railway Museum contains a large collection of locomotives, dating from 1829, as well as royal carriages and a replica of a section of the Channel Tunnel.

Roman period to the Middle Ages The Roman Eboracum was an important administrative centre, and the base for the northern campaigns of Hadrian. The emperor Septimus Severus died in the city, and following the death here of the emperor Constantine Chlorus in 306, the troops proclaimed his son Constantine the Great emperor of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans withdrew in 407. Under the Saxons York was known as Eoforwic and it became a Christian stronghold. The Roman missionary Paulinus baptized King Edwin of Northumbria here in 627. In the 8th century York was renowned as a seat of learning; Alcuin, the headmaster of its school of St Peter, was called by Charlemagne (Roman emperor from 800) to found a school at Aquisgranum (now Aachen, Germany), and a system of education for the Holy Roman Empire. The Danes captured the city in 867, and it became the Viking trading centre of Jorvik. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066), 14 km/9mi northeast of York, Harold II defeated the army of King Harold of Norway.

At the time of the Norman Conquest the population was estimated to be 8,000, second in size only to that of London. An important commercial city in medieval times, it became a centre of the wool trade, and the small ships of its merchant adventurers sailed from the wharves of York to those of the Hanseatic towns (confederation of north European trading centres from the 12th to the 17th centuries). As the size of ships increased the city's European trade declined, and York lost its commercial importance, whilst retaining its ecclesiastical and much of its political importance. Parliaments were held here, and Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III made York their base for wars against the Scots. In the 15th century Richard, Duke of York (1411–60), founded the dynasty of York which ruled England from 1461 to 1485.

16th–19th centuries At the height of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the rebellion against Henry VIII in 1536–37, the city was controlled by rebels. Following their suppression, Robert Aske, leader of the rebellion, was executed in the city in 1537. In the same year Henry VIII established in York the headquarters of the Council of the North, to oversee the introduction of Protestantism in the north. The city was a Royalist stronghold during the Civil War; in 1644 it was besieged by Parliamentary forces and surrendered after the Battle of Marston Moor. In the 18th century York became a fashionable resort, and in the 19th century its prosperity was again established when it became a railway centre.

Famous people York was the birthplace of the conspirator Guy Fawkes, the poet W H Auden, the painter William Etty, the chocolate manufacturers Joseph Rowntree and Joseph Terry, the sculptor John Flaxman, and the actress Judi Dench. Dick Turpin, the highwayman, was hanged here in 1739.

York

Unitary authority in northeast England created in 1996 from part of the county of North Yorkshire.

Area

271 sq km/105 sq mi

Towns

York (administrative headquarters)

Features

River Ouse; River Fosse; York Minster –largest medieval cathedral in England, with 15th-century stained glass; York Castle and Museum; National Railway Museum; city walls built by Henry III in 13th century with 4 gates and 39 towers; Jorvik Viking Centre; the Shambles medieval streets

Industries

agriculture and agricultural services, mechanical engineering, circuit boards, tourism, scientific instruments, confectionery, glass

Population

(2001) 181,100

Famous people

Alcuin, Guy Fawkes, John Flaxman, W H Auden

York

English dynasty founded by Richard, Duke of York (1411–60). He claimed the throne through his descent from Lionel, Duke of Clarence (1338–68), third son of Edward III, whereas the reigning monarch, Henry VI of the rival house of Lancaster, was descended from the fourth son, John of Gaunt. The argument was fought out in the Wars of the Roses. York was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, but the following year his son became King Edward IV. Edward was succeeded by his son Edward V and then by his brother Richard III, with whose death at Bosworth the line ended. The Lancastrian victor in that battle was crowned Henry VII, and consolidated his claim by marrying Edward IV's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, thus founding the House of Tudor.

York

City in southern Pennsylvania, USA, on the Codorus Creek, 34 km/21 mi southeast of Harrisburg; population (2000) 40,900. It is an agricultural processing centre for the area and manufactures paper products, building materials, motorcycles, and heavy machinery. The Articles of Confederation were adopted here during the Continental Congress 1777–78. It originated as a Quaker settlement and has an 18th-century Quaker meeting-house.

York is the location for the final assembly line for the Harley-Davison motorcycle; the factory site also contains a museum.

The term ‘United States of America’ was first used here when the city was the first capital 1777–78.

York

Town in Western Australia, 97 km/60 mi east of Perth; population (1996) 1,900. Products include cereal crops, wool, cattle, furniture, and arts and crafts, and tourism is important. Since the 1970s the town has become a destination for retirees and weekend retreats. York has retained more of its original buildings than any other town in Western Australia.

Examples include the Old Gaol (1838), the Castle Hotel (1842) the oldest hotel still in use in Western Australia, and the Church of Holy Trinity (1858). The former hospital, courthouse, police station, and post office were all constructed between 1892 and 1896.

The town was named after York in England. The district around York was first explored by settlers in 1830, and later that year Balladong Farm, Western Australia's oldest inland farm, was established. The town site was established in 1836, and is the state's oldest inland town. In the 1850s York was an important convict depot. It became an important centre for wheat and wool production, although development was hampered by transport problems. The construction of a railway between York and the port of Fremantle in 1887 helped to overcome this problem.

Following the discovery of gold in 1887 the town became an important stopover for prospectors travelling to Southern Cross, although the opening of a direct railway between Perth and Kalgoorlie in 1896 resulted in the town being bypassed by many travellers.