The City of York - One of the major cities of the world

Click here for links to a number of local attractions

York was founded by the Romans in 71 AD and soon became a major military installation of the British Province. Several Roman Emperors based themselves at York, and Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emporor in York.York expanded to become a major social, economic, military and political centre of the Roman Empire.

After the fall of Rome,in the 5th Century, the area was invaded by Anglian settlers who founded a Kingdom centred on the city of Eoforwic, which became a centre of great learning whose influences spread throughout Europe . In the 7th Century Paulinus founded a small Minster on the site of the previous Roman Headquarters, which after several periods of rebuilding over hundreds of years became the magnificent building we see today.

In the 8th and 9th Century , Viking incursions led to the establishment of a Viking Kingdom with York as its capital, and in its heyday York was one of the cultural jewels of the Viking civilisation.

After the Norman conquest, York was destroyed but soon recovered to become one of the powerful mediavel cities of the land, having in common with London its own mayor ( later Lord Mayor) and Sheriff. In the 18th century, the former glories of York were fading , but were revived as York became the centre of high society and entertainment, and in the 19th century, George Hudson, the Railway King, made his city the centre of a hub of railways that revived the former propsperity of the City.

Today , York is a vibrant ,pulsating place, sure of its place at the centre of European cultural history and development.

Local attractions and links

Provided below is just a small selection of the wonderful visitor attractions, museums and buildings you can see during your stay in York and the surrounding area.

York Minster - The largest medieval cathedral outside Italy

The Bar Walls - The thirteenth century stone walls and gates of the City

St Margaret Clitheroe’s shrine - The house of a martyred saint

The Multangular Tower – a part of the Roman defences still standing 25 feet high

Merchant Adventurer’s Hall - magnificent medieval Guildhall

The Shambles - a medieval street virtually unchanged for 600 years

Fairfax House - A beautifully restored Georgian Town House

The Mansion House – Residence of the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, a member of the Privy Council

Clifford’s Tower - A uniquely designed stone keep of the medieval castle- a site of pilgrimage for jews because of the massacre that occurred there.

Micklegate - A well preserved Georgian Street

Our Lady's Row - The oldest surviving row of houses in England

The Roman Bath - A public house where the Roman Baths can be visited

The National Railway Museum - Locomotives and rolling stock from 1840 onwards

The Castle Museum - a collection of everyday objects and recreated streets

The Jorvik Museum - The streets of Viking York recreated on original site

The Yorkshire Museum – a major regional museum with Roman artefacts

DIG - an archaeological museum where artefacts from all periods can be handled

The Museum of Farming - A museum of Yorkshire farm history

York City Art Gallery - A well stocked broad ranging collection

The Bar Convent Museum – The history of Catholicism in the North of England

Castle Howard - One of England's grandest Baroque mansions

Harewood House - St Petersburg palace on a Yorkshire hill