The History of York
This page highlights a brief background to the history of York. It can be used as a starting point if you are interested to find out more.
York was founded during the reign of the Roman Emperor Vespasian in AD71 and for much of the intervening period has been the principal city of Northern England. York was named Eboracum by the Romans. Eboracum was a major military base on route to Scotland.
York was to become so important in Roman Britain that a royal palace was built and the emperor Septimus Severus stayed here with his imperial court in the years 209-211. By the 4th century Eboracum was the capitol of southern Britannia. |
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The Emperor Septimius Severus died here in AD211 and was then succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta. Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine I, also died here in 306. York is also the city in which Constantine's troops proclaimed him emperor.
Substantial remains of the headquarters building of the Roman legionary fortress were discovered underneath where York Minster stands today. A Roman column which was found now stands on nearby Deangate, where there is also a statue of Constantine.
Other sites of excavated remains include a Roman bath, located under the Roman Bath pub in St. Sampson's Square, a Roman Temple, near the foot of Lendal Bridge, and the site of a Roman bridge over the River Ouse. Some remains of the Roman city walls can be seen between Monk Bar and the Merchant Adventurer's Hall, and a more substantial section can be seen between Museum Gardens and the Central Library, together with the Roman Multangular Tower. Outside the city walls are the remains of Roman cemeteries near The Mount. A large number of Roman finds are now housed in the Yorkshire Museum in Museum Gardens.
Where can I find out more about Roman York?
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The Roman Multangular Tower in Museum Gardens.
(Jorvik)
York had been founded as the Roman legionary fortress of Eboracum and revived as the Anglo-Saxon trading port of Eoforwic. It was first captured in November 866 by a large army of Danish Vikings, called the "Great Heathen Army" by Anglo-Saxon chroniclers, which had landed in East Anglia and made their way north, aided by a supply of horses with which King Edmund of East Anglia bought them off and by civil in-fighting between royal candidates in the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria. Declaring a truce, the rivals for the throne of Northumbria joined forces but failed to retake the city in March 867, and with their deaths the kingdom Deira came under Danish control, and the Northumbrian royal court fled north to refuge in Bernicia. A Viking attempt against Mercia the same season failed and in 869 their efforts against Wessex were fruitless in the face of opposition from Kings Ethelred and Alfred the Great.
York Viking Centre has many artifact found in York archeological digs.
Where can I find out more about Viking York?
The Medieval Guilds of York
York had over 100 different trades & crafts, but only about 50 - 60 had a Guild organisation. Each guild was concerned with the organisation of a single trade or group of related trades, and with policing its members' activities through training (by apprenticeship), regulating standards of workmanship, and so on.
The Guild of Freemen
Bedern Hall, Bedern
www.freemenofyork.org
The Guild of Building
www.yorkguildofbuilding.org
The Company of Merchant Taylor's
Merchant Taylor's Hall, Aldwark, York YO1 2BX
The Company of Merchant Adventurers
Merchant Adventurers Hall
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Tudor York 1485 - 1602
Where can I find out more about Tudor York?
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King Richard III Museum & Gift Shop. - Movie 1.2mb
See our separate page for Georgian York
York Castle Museum with real Victorian Street.
Victorian view of York 1881. Large image!
Victorian Architecture that can be seen in York.
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