York

Roman wall and the west corner tower of Eboracum. The top half is medieval.

Archaeological evidence suggests that Mesolithic people settled in the region of York between 8000 and 7000 BC, although it is not known whether their settlements were permanent or temporary. By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain, the area was occupied by a tribe known to the Romans as the Brigantes. The Brigantian tribal area initially became a Roman client state, but later its leaders became more hostile and the Roman Ninth Legion was sent north of the Humber into Brigantian territory.[17]

The city was founded in 71 AD, when the Ninth Legion conquered the Brigantes and constructed a wooden military fortress on flat ground above the River Ouse close to its confluence with the River Foss. The fortress, whose walls were rebuilt in stone by the VI legion based there subsequent to the IX legion, covered an area of 50 acres (20 ha) and was inhabited by 6,000 legionary soldiers. The site of the principia (HQ) of the fortress lies under the foundations of York Minster, and excavations in the undercroft have revealed part of the Roman structure and columns.[11][18]

Roman Emperor Constantine the Great proclaimed Emperor at York in 306 AD.

The Emperors Hadrian, Septimius Severus, and Constantius I all held court in York during their various campaigns. During his stay 207–211 AD, the Emperor Severus proclaimed York capital of the province of Britannia Inferior, and it is likely that it was he who granted York the privileges of a 'colonia' or city. Constantius I died in 306 AD during his stay in York, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Emperor by the troops based in the fortress.[18][19] In 314 AD a bishop from York attended the Council at Arles to represent Christians from the province.[20]

While the Roman colonia and fortress were on high ground, by 400 AD the town was victim to occasional flooding from the Rivers Ouse and Foss, and the population reduced.[21] York declined in the post-Roman era, and was taken and settled by the Angles in the 5th century.[22]

Reclamation of parts of the town was initiated in the 7th century under King Edwin of Northumbria, and York became his chief city.[23] The first wooden minster church was built in York for the baptism of Edwin in 627, according to the Venerable Bede.[24] Edwin ordered the small wooden church be rebuilt in stone; however, he was killed in 633, and the task of completing the stone minster fell to his successor Oswald.[11][25] In the following century, Alcuin of York came to the cathedral school of York. He had a long career as a teacher and scholar, first at the school at York now known as St Peter's School, founded in 627 AD, and later as Charlemagne's leading advisor on ecclesiastical and educational affairs.[26]

In 866, Northumbria was in the midst of internecine struggles when the Vikings raided and captured York. As a thriving Anglo-Saxon metropolis and prosperous economic hub, York was a clear target for the Vikings. Led by Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan, Scandinavian forces attacked the town on All Saints' Day. Launching the assault on a holy day proved an effective tactical move – most of York's leaders were in the cathedral, leaving the town vulnerable to attack and unprepared for battle. After it was conquered, the city was renamed from the Saxon Eoforwic to Jorvik. It became the capital of Viking territory in Britain, and at its peak boasted more than 10,000 inhabitants. This was a population second only to London within Great Britain. Jorvik proved an important economic and trade centre for the Vikings. Norse coinage was created at the Jorvik mint, while archaeologists have found evidence of a variety of craft workshops around the town's central Coppergate area. These demonstrate that textile production, metalwork, carving, glasswork and jewellery-making were all practised in Jorvik. Materials from as far afield as the Persian Gulf have also been discovered, suggesting that the town was part of an international trading network.[27] Under Viking rule the city became a major river port, part of the extensive Viking trading routes throughout northern Europe. The last ruler of an independent Jórvík, Eric Bloodaxe, was driven from the city in 954 AD by King Eadred in his successful attempt to complete the unification of England.[28]

A panorama of 15th-century York by E. Ridsdale Tate, York Castle is on the right hand side of the river, opposite the abandoned motte of Baile Hill

In 1068, two years after the Norman conquest of England, the people of York rebelled. Initially they succeeded, but upon the arrival of William the Conqueror the rebellion was put down. William at once built a wooden fortress on a motte. In 1069, after another rebellion, the king built another timbered castle across the River Ouse. These were destroyed in 1069 and rebuilt by William about the time of his ravaging Northumbria in what is called the "Harrying of the North" where he destroyed everything from York to Durham. The remains of the rebuilt castles, now in stone, are visible on either side of the River Ouse.[29][30]

The first stone minster church was badly damaged by fire in the uprising, and the Normans built a minster on a new site. Around the year 1080, Archbishop Thomas started building the cathedral that in time became the current Minster.[25]

Clifford's Tower, part of York Castle

In the 12th century York started to prosper. In 1190, York Castle was the site of an infamous massacre of its Jewish inhabitants, in which at least 150 were murdered, although some authorities put the figure as high as 500.[31][32]

The city, through its location on the River Ouse and its proximity to the Great North Road, became a major trading centre. King John granted the city's first charter in 1212,[33] confirming trading rights in England and Europe.[25][34] During the later Middle Ages, York merchants imported wine from France, cloth, wax, canvas, and oats from the Low Countries, timber and furs from the Baltic and exported grain to Gascony and grain and wool to the Low Countries.[35]

York became a major cloth manufacturing and trading centre. Edward I further stimulated the city's economy by using the city as a base for his war in Scotland. The city was the location of significant unrest during the so-called Peasants' Revolt in 1381. The city acquired an increasing degree of autonomy from central government including the privileges granted by a charter of Richard II in 1396.

St Mary's Abbey, York, was founded in 1155 and destroyed during the Dissolution,c. 1539

The city underwent a period of economic decline during Tudor times. Under King Henry VIII, the Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the end of York's many monastic houses, including several orders of friars, the hospitals of St Nicholas and of St Leonard, the largest such institution in the north of England. This led to the Pilgrimage of Grace, an uprising of northern Catholics in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire opposed to religious reform. Henry VIII restored his authority by establishing the Council of the North in York in the dissolved St Mary's Abbey. The city became a trading and service centre during this period.[36][37]

Anne of Denmark came to York with her children Prince Henry and Princess Elizabeth on 11 June 1603. The Mayor gave her a tour and offered her spiced wine, but she preferred beer.[38] Guy Fawkes, who was born and educated in York, was a member of a group of Roman Catholic restorationists that planned the Gunpowder Plot.[39] Its aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I, the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic aristocracy and nobility were inside.

A map of York, 1611

In 1644, during the Civil War, the Parliamentarians besieged York, and many medieval houses outside the city walls were lost. The barbican at Walmgate Bar was undermined and explosives laid, but the plot was discovered. On the arrival of Prince Rupert, with an army of 15,000 men, the siege was lifted. The Parliamentarians retreated some 6 miles (10 km) from York with Rupert in pursuit, before turning on his army and soundly defeating it at the Battle of Marston Moor. Of Rupert's 15,000 troops, 4,000 were killed and 1,500 captured. The siege was renewed and the city surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax[36] on 15 July.

Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, and the removal of the garrison from York in 1688, the city was dominated by the gentry and merchants, although the clergy were still important. Competition from Leeds and Hull, together with silting of the River Ouse, resulted in York losing its pre-eminent position as a trading centre, but its role as the social and cultural centre for wealthy northerners was rising. York's many elegant townhouses, such as the Lord Mayor's Mansion House and Fairfax House date from this period, as do the Assembly Rooms, the Theatre Royal, and the racecourse.[37][40]

The Great Hall at the National Railway Museum

The railway promoter George Hudson was responsible for bringing the railway to York in 1839. Although Hudson's career as a railway entrepreneur ended in disgrace and bankruptcy, his promotion of York over Leeds, and of his own railway company (the York and North Midland Railway), helped establish York as a major railway centre by the late 19th century.[41]

Former British Rail Offices, demolished in 2018 to be replaced by the Hudson Quarter Development.

The introduction of the railways established engineering in the city.[42][43] At the turn of the 20th century, the railway accommodated the headquarters and works of the North Eastern Railway, which employed more than 5,500 people. The railway was instrumental in the expansion of Rowntree's Cocoa Works. It was founded in 1862 by Henry Isaac Rowntree, who was joined in 1869 by his brother the philanthropist Joseph.[44] Another chocolate manufacturer, Terry's of York, was a major employer.[37][45] By 1900, the railways and confectionery had become the city's two major industries.[43]

Low Petergate with the minster in the background

York was a centre of early photography, as described by Hugh Murray in his 1986 book Photographs and Photographers of York: The Early Years, 1844–79. Photographers who had studios in York included William Hayes, William Pumphrey, and Augustus Mahalski who operated on Davygate and Low Petergate in the 19th century, having come to England as a refugee after serving as a Polish lancer in the Austro-Hungarian war.[46][47]

In 1942, the city was bombed during the Second World War (part of the Baedeker Blitz) by the German Luftwaffe and 92 people were killed and hundreds injured.[48] Buildings damaged in the raid included the Railway Station, Rowntree's Factory, Poppleton Road Primary School, St Martin-le-Grand Church, the Bar Convent and the Guildhall which was left in total disrepair until 1960.

Bench with Kit Kat advertising in York (where the bar was created by the confectionery company Rowntree's) to mark National Chocolate Week in 2018

With the emergence of tourism, the historic core of York became one of the city's major assets, and in 1968 it was designated a conservation area.[49] The existing tourist attractions were supplemented by the establishment of the National Railway Museum in York in 1975,[50] the Jorvik Viking Centre in 1984[51] and the York Dungeon in 1986.[52] The opening of the University of York in 1963 added to the prosperity of the city.[53] In March 2012, York's Chocolate Story opened.[54]

York was voted European Tourism City of the Year by European Cities Marketing in June 2007, beating 130 other European cities to gain first place, surpassing Gothenburg in Sweden (second) and Valencia in Spain (third).[55] York was also voted safest place to visit in the 2010 Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards.[56] In 2018, The Sunday Times deemed York to be its overall 'Best Place to Live' in Britain, highlighting the city's "perfect mix of heritage and hi-tech" and as a "mini-metropolis with cool cafes, destination restaurants, innovative companies – plus the fastest internet in Britain".[57][58] The result was confirmed in a YouGov survey, reported in August 2018, with 92% of respondents saying that they liked the city, more than any of 56 other British cities.[59]

York Guildhall is the seat of local government

The City of York is governed by the City of York Council. It is a unitary authority that operates on a leader and cabinet style of governance, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The city council consists of 47 councillors[60][61] representing 21 wards, with one, two or three per ward serving four-year terms. Its headquarters are at the Guildhall and West Offices in the city centre.

York is divided into 21 administrative wards: Acomb, Bishopthorpe, Clifton, Copmanthorpe, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington, Guildhall, Haxby and Wigginton, Heworth, Heworth Without, Holgate, Hull Road, Huntington and New Earswick, Micklegate, Osbaldwick and Derwent, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, Rural West York, Strensall, Westfield, and Wheldrake.[62]

The members of the cabinet, led by the Council Leader, makes decisions on their portfolio areas individually.[63][64] Following the Local Government Act 2000, the Council Leader commands the confidence of the city council; the leader of the largest political group and head of the City of York Council. The Leader of the council and the cabinet (consisting of all the executive councillors) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the city council. The current Council Leader, Liberal Democrats' Cllr Keith Aspden, was appointed on 22 May 2019, following the 2019 City of York Council election.

The Mansion House is home to the Lord Mayor of York

York's first citizen and civic head is the Lord Mayor, who is the chairman of the City of York Council. The appointment is made by the city council each year in May, at the same time appointing the Sheriff, the city's other civic head. The offices of Lord Mayor and Sheriff are purely ceremonial. The Lord Mayor carries out civic and ceremonial duties in addition to chairing full council meetings.[61] The incumbent Lord Mayor since 26 May 2022 is Councillor David Carr, and the Sheriff is Suzie Mercer.[65]

York Youth Council consists of several young people who negotiate with the councillors to get better facilities for York's young people, and who also elect York's Member of Youth Parliament.[66][67]

As a result of the 2019 City of York Council election the Conservative Party was reduced to two seats. The Liberal Democrats had 21 councillors. The Labour Party had 17 councillors and the Green Party had four with three Independents.[68] Due to no overall control, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party agreed to form a coalition on 14 May 2019.[69]

York is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, and therefore did not form part of any of its three historic ridings, or divisions. Its Mayor has had the status of Lord Mayor since 1370. York is an ancient borough, and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to form a municipal borough. It gained the status of a county borough in 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888, and existed so until 1974, when, under the Local Government Act 1972, it became a non-metropolitan district in the county of North Yorkshire, whilst retaining its Lord Mayor, its Sheriff and Aldermen.[70][71] As a result of 1990s UK local government reform, York regained unitary status and saw a substantial alteration in its borders, taking in parts of Selby and Harrogate districts, and about half the population of the Ryedale district.[72] The new boundary was imposed after central government rejected the former city council's own proposal.

Rachael Maskell (L), Member of Parliament (MP)
for York Central since 2015

Julian Sturdy (C), MP
for York Outer since 2010

From 1997 to 2010, the central part of the district was covered by the City of York constituency, while the remainder was split between the constituencies of Ryedale, Selby, and Vale of York.[73] These constituencies were represented by Hugh Bayley, John Greenway, John Grogan, and Anne McIntosh respectively.

Following their review in 2003 of parliamentary representation in North Yorkshire, the Boundary Commission for England recommended the creation of two new seats for the City of York, in time for the general election in 2010. These are York Central, which covers the inner urban area, and is entirely surrounded by the York Outer constituency.[74]

York is within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire and, until 1974, was within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lieutenant of the County of York, West Riding and the County of The City of York. The city does retain the right to appoint its own Sheriff. The holder of the Royal dukedom of York has no responsibilities either ceremonially or administratively as regards to the city.

York lies in the Vale of York, a flat area of fertile arable land bordered by the Pennines, the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds. The city was built at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss on a terminal moraine left by the last ice age.[80]

Tour boats on the Ouse

The River Foss

During Roman times, the land surrounding the Ouse and Foss was marshy, making the site easy to defend. The city is prone to flooding from the River Ouse, and has an extensive network of flood defences with walls along the river, and a liftable barrier across the Foss where it joins the Ouse at the "Blue Bridge". In October and November 2000, York experienced the worst flooding in 375 years; more than 300 homes were flooded.[81] In December 2015 the flooding was more extensive and caused major disruption.[82] The extreme impact led to a personal visit by Prime Minister David Cameron.[83] Much land in and around the city is on flood plains too flood-prone for development other than agriculture. The ings are flood meadows along the Ouse, while the strays are open common grassland in various locations around the city.

York has a temperate climate (Cfb) with four distinct seasons. As with the rest of the Vale of York, the city's climate is drier and warmer than the rest of the Yorkshire and the Humber region. Owing to its lowland location, York is prone to frosts, fog, and cold winds during winter, spring, and very early summer.[84] Snow can fall in winter from December onwards to as late as April but quickly melts. As with much of the British Isles, the weather is changeable. York experiences most sunshine from May to July, an average of six hours per day.[85] With its inland location, summers are often warmer than the Yorkshire coast with temperatures of 27 °C or more. Extremes recorded at the University of York campus between 1998 and 2010 include a highest temperature of 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) and a lowest temperature of −16.3 °C (2.7 °F) on 6 December 2010. The most rainfall in one day was 88.4 millimetres (3.5 in).[86]

York's urbanised areas are surrounded by a green belt that restricts development in the rural areas and parts of surrounding villages,[89] to preserve the setting and historic character of the city.[90] The green belt surrounds nearly all of the city and its outer villages, extending out into North Yorkshire.

Percentages in York following non-Christian religion were below England's national average. Classified as having "No Religion" is higher than the national average. Christianity has the largest religious following in York, 59.5% residents reported as Christian in the 2011 census.

Nave of York Minster

Stained glass at York Minster

St William's College facade

York has multiple churches, most present churches in York are from the medieval period. St William's College behind the Minster, and Bedern Hall, off Goodramgate, are former dwelling places of the canons of the York Minster.[99]

There are 33 active Anglican churches in York, which is home to the Archbishop of York and York Minster, the Mother Church and administrative centre of the northern province of the Church of England and the Diocese of York.[100] York is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough, has eight Roman Catholic churches and a number of different Catholic religious orders.[101]

Leaders of different Christian denominations work together across the city, forming a network of churches known as One Voice York.[102] Other Christian denominations active in York include the Religious Society of Friends who have three meeting houses,[103] Methodists (the York Circuit of The Methodist Church York and Hull District),[104] and Unitarians. St Columba's United Reformed Church in Priory Street, originally built for the Presbyterians, dates from 1879.[105] York's only Mosque is located in the Layerthorpe area, and the city also has a UK Islamic Mission centre.[106] Various Buddhist traditions are represented in the city and around York.[107] There is also an active Jewish community.[108]

Religion	2001[109]		2011[110]
	Number	%	Number	%
Holds religious beliefs	137,377	75.9	123,009	62.1
Christian	134,771	74.4	117,856	59.5
Buddhist	388	0.2	1,016	0.5
Hindu	347	0.2	983	0.5
Jewish	191	0.1	202	0.1
Muslim	1,047	0.6	2,072	1.0
Sikh	95	0.1	133	0.1
Other religion	538	0.3	747	0.4
(No religion and Religion not stated)	43,717	24.2	75,042	37.9
No religion	30,003	16.6	59,646	30.1
Religion not stated	13,714	7.6	15,396	7.8
Total population	181,094	100.0	198,051	100.0

Coppergate Shopping Centre

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 caused a slowdown because of restrictions imposed on businesses and on travel in the UK. By January 2021, many cities were in their third lockdown and "Britain's jobless rate has soared to its highest level for more than four years".[131][132] The "retail, hospitality and tourism sector" was especially hard hit[133] in York. In August 2020, Make It York and City of York Council embarked on a six-month tourism marketing plan "to reenergise the city while building resident and visitor confidence".[114]

In addition to high unemployment during lockdown periods, one analysis (by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership) predicted in August 2020 that "as many as 13,835 jobs in York will be lost in the scenario considered most likely, taking the city's unemployment rate to 14.5%". Some critics claimed that part of the problem was caused by "over-reliance on the booming tourism industry at the expense of a long-term economic plan".[133] A report in mid June 2020 stated that unemployment had risen 114 per cent over the previous year because of restrictions imposed as a result of the pandemic.[134]

Other analyses suggested that "York is well-placed for the high street to recover and evolve from the pandemic if new businesses focus on creating an attraction or experience rather than traditional retail" The North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership also "predicted a significant rise in staycation trips to York in 2021".[135]

Cumberland Street along the river

York's location on the River Ouse, and in the centre of the Vale of York, means that it has always had a significant position in the nation's transport system.[35] The city grew up as a river port at the confluence of the Ouse and the Foss. The Ouse was originally a tidal river, accessible to seagoing ships of the time. Today, both of these rivers remain navigable, although the Foss is only navigable for a short distance above the confluence. A lock at Naburn on the Ouse to the south of York means that the river in York is no longer tidal.[150]

Until the end of the 20th century, the Ouse was used by barges to carry freight between York and the port of Hull. The last significant such traffic was the supply of newsprint to the local newspaper's Foss-side print works, which continued until 1997. Today, navigation is almost exclusively leisure-oriented.

Panorama of the River Ouse looking south from Lendal Bridge

The Snickleway Inn in Goodramgate

Stonegate is pedestrianised during the day

Like most cities founded by the Romans, York is well served by long-distance trunk roads. The city lies at the intersection of the A19 road from Doncaster to Tyneside, the A59 road from Liverpool to York, the A64 road from Leeds to Scarborough and the A1079 road from York to Hull. The A64 road provides the principal link to the motorway network, linking York to both the A1(M) and the M1 motorways at a distance of about 10 miles (15 km) from the city. The trans-Pennine M62 motorway is less than 20 miles (30 km) away providing links to Manchester and Liverpool. The city is surrounded on all sides by an outer ring road, at a distance of some 3 miles (5 km) from the centre of the city, which allows through traffic to by-pass the city. The street plan of the historic core of the city dates from medieval times and is not suitable for modern traffic. As a consequence, many of the routes inside the city walls are designated as car-free during business hours or restrict traffic entirely. To alleviate this situation, six bus-based park and ride sites operate in York. The sites are located towards the edge of the urban area, with easy access from the ring road and allow out of town visitors to complete their journey into the city centre by bus.[151]

York railway station from Queen Street

York railway station interior

York has been a major railway centre since the first line arrived in 1839, at the beginning of the railway age. For many years, the city hosted the headquarters and works of the North Eastern Railway.[45] York railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line from London to Newcastle and Edinburgh. It takes less than two hours to get to York from London by rail, with at least 25 direct trains each weekday. The station is also served by long-distance trains on CrossCountry services, which link Edinburgh and Newcastle to destinations in south and west England via Birmingham.[152] TransPennine Express provide a frequent service of semi-fast trains linking York to Newcastle, Scarborough, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Manchester, Manchester Airport and Liverpool. Local stopping services by Northern connect York to Selby, Harrogate, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and many intermediate points, as well as many other stations across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.[152]

The closest international airports are Leeds Bradford at 30 miles (48 km), Teesside 47 miles (76 km), Doncaster Sheffield 49 miles (79 km), Humberside 54 miles (87 km). Further afield are Manchester 84 miles (135 km) and Newcastle 95 miles (153 km).

Manchester Airport – with connections to Europe, North America, Africa and Asia – has direct rail links by TransPennine Express with its namesake station.[152] By road its accessible by the A64 to the M60 via the A1(M) motorway, M1 and M62.

Yorkshire Air Museum

Teesside Airport has one connection via Darlington and Eaglescliffe with a limited service with a bus from its station to the airport. By road, it is accessible by the A19 north to the A67. Newcastle Airport has one connection via Newcastle with the metro to Newcastle Airport, it is accessible by the A1(M) north to the A1 then the A696.

Leeds Bradford and Humberside have no direct station with buses from the nearest stations. Leeds Bradford serves most major European and North African airports, as well as Pakistan and New York City.[153] Humberside is accessible by the A1079 to the A15 via the A63; Leeds Bradford by the A59 to the A658 via the A661.[154]

York has an airfield at the former RAF Elvington, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of the city centre, which is the home of the Yorkshire Air Museum and used for private aviation. In 2003, plans were drafted to expand the site for business aviation or a full commercial service.[155] Former RAF Church Fenton is also near the city and private, it is now called Leeds East.

First York Mercedes-Benz Citaro articulated bus on Rougier Street

Public transport within the city is largely bus-based. First York operates the majority of the city's local bus services, as well as the York Park & Ride services. York was the location of the first implementation of FirstGroup's experimental and controversial FTR bus concept, which sought to confer the advantages of a modern tramway system at a lower cost.[156] The service was withdrawn following an election manifesto pledge by the Labour Group at the 2011 local government election.[157] Transdev York also operates a large number of local bus services. Open-top tourist and sightseeing buses are operated by Transdev York, on behalf of City Sightseeing.

Rural services, linking local towns and villages with York, are provided by a number of companies with Transdev York & Country, East Yorkshire and Reliance Motor Services operating most of them.[158] Longer-distance bus services are provided by a number of operators, including Arriva Yorkshire services to Selby, East Yorkshire routes to Hull, Beverley, Driffield, Market Weighton and Pocklington, and Harrogate Bus Company services to Knaresborough and Harrogate. Yorkshire Coastliner links Leeds via York with Scarborough, Filey, Bridlington and Whitby.[159]

York Castle Museum; an 18th century building

York Castle, a complex of buildings ranging from the medieval Clifford's Tower to the 20th-century entrance to the York Castle Museum (formerly a prison) has had a chequered history. As well as the Castle Museum, the city contains numerous other museums and historic buildings such as the Yorkshire Museum and its Museum Gardens, Jorvik Viking Centre, York Art Gallery, Merchant Adventurers' Hall, the reconstructed medieval house Barley Hall (owned by the York Archaeological Trust), the 18th-century Fairfax House, the Mansion House (the historic home of the Lord Mayor) and the so-called Treasurer's House (owned by the National Trust).[160] The National Railway Museum is situated just beyond the station, and is home to a vast range of transport material and the largest collection of railway locomotives in the world. Included in this collection are the world's fastest steam locomotive LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard and the world-famous LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman, which has been overhauled in the Museum.[161] Although noted for its Medieval history, visitors can also gain an understanding of the Cold War through visiting the York Cold War Bunker, former headquarters of No 20 Group of the Royal Observer Corps.[162]

York Library

The city's first subscription library opened in 1794.[163] The first free public library, the York Library, was built on Clifford Street in 1893, to mark Queen Victoria's jubilee. A new building was erected on Museum Street in 1927, and this is still the library today; it was extended in 1934 and 1938.[164]

University of York, view across the lake to Central Hall

The University of York's main campus is on the southern edge of the city at Heslington. The Department of Archaeology and the graduate Centres for Eighteenth Century Studies and Medieval Studies are located in the historic King's Manor in the city centre.[165]

York St John University looking across Lord Mayors Walk from the City Walls.

It was York's only institution with university status until 2006, when the more centrally located York St John University, formerly an autonomous college of the University of Leeds, attained full university status. The city formerly hosted a branch of the University of Law before it moved to Leeds. The University of York also has a medical school, Hull York Medical School.[166]

The city has two major further education institutions. York College is an amalgamation of York Technical College and York Sixth Form College. Students there study a very wide range of academic and vocational courses, and range from school leavers and sixth formers to people training to make career moves.[167] Askham Bryan College offers further education courses, foundation and honours degrees, specialising in more vocational subjects such as horticulture, agriculture, animal management and even golf course management.[168]

Bootham School was established by Quakers in 1823

There are 70 local council schools with over 24,000 pupils in the City of York Council area.[169] The City of York Council manages most primary and secondary schools within the city.

Primary schools cover education from ages 5–11, with some offering early years education from age 3. From 11 to 16 education is provided by 10 secondary schools, four of which offer additional education up to the age of 18.[170] In 2007 Oaklands Sports College and Lowfield Comprehensive School merged to become one school known as York High School.[171]

There is one Roman Catholic secondary school in the city, All Saints School, which was founded in 1665, it is attached to the oldest running convent in the country, Bar Convent.

York also has several private schools. St Peter's School was founded in 627. The scholar Alcuin, who went on to serve Charlemagne, taught there.[172] It was also the school attended by Guy Fawkes.[173]

Two schools have Quaker origins: Bootham School is co-educational[174] and The Mount School is all-girls.[175] Another all-girls school is Queen Margaret's School, which was established under the Woodard Foundation.

York Theatre Royal

The Theatre Royal, which was established in 1744, produces an annual pantomime which attracts loyal audiences from around the country. The theatre's veteran star, Berwick Kaler, often played the dame, before he retired from acting in the pantomime in 2019,[176] and officially parted ways with the theatre after the so-called "Panto Wars".[177] The Theatre Royal continues to produce an annual pantomime without Kaler, who came out of retirement in 2021 to star in a new panto at The Grand Opera House.[178] Both the Grand Opera House and Joseph Rowntree Theatre also offer a variety of productions.[179][180] The city is home to the Riding Lights Theatre Company, which as well as operating a busy national touring department, also operates a busy youth theatre and educational departments. York is also home to a number of amateur dramatic groups.[181] The Department of Theatre, Film and Television and Student Societies of the University of York put on public drama performances.[182]

Interior of York's Grand Opera House

The York Mystery Plays are performed in public at intervals, using texts based on the original medieval plays of this type that were performed by the guilds – often with specific connections to the subject matter of each play. (For instance the Shipwrights' Play is the Building of Noah's Ark and the fish-sellers and mariners the Landing of Noah's Ark).[183] The York Cycle of Mystery Plays or Pageants is the most complete in England. Originally performed from wagons at various locations around the city from the 14th century until 1570, they were revived in 1951 during the Festival of Britain, when York was one of the cities with a regional festival.[184] They became part of the York City Festival every three years and later four years. They were mostly produced in a temporary open-air theatre within the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, using some professional but mostly amateur actors. Lead actors have included Christopher Timothy and Robson Green (in the role of Christ) and Dame Judi Dench as a school girl, in 1951, 1954 and 1957. (She remains a Patron of the plays). The cycle was presented in the Theatre Royal in 1992 and 1996, within York Minster in 2000 and in 2002, 2006 and 2010 by Guild groups from wagons in the squares, in the Dean's Park, or at the Eye of York.[185] They go around the streets, recreating the original productions. In 2012, the York Mystery Plays were performed between 2 and 27 August at St Mary's Abbey in the York Museum Gardens.[186]

The Academy of St Olave's, a chamber orchestra which gives concerts in St Olave's Church, Marygate, is one of the music groups that perform regularly in York.[187] A former church, St Margaret's, Walmgate, is the National Centre for Early Music, which hosts concerts, broadcasts, competitions and events including the York Early Music Festival.[188][189] Students, staff and visiting artists of York St John University music department regularly perform lunchtime concerts in the university chapel. The staff and students of the University of York also perform in the city.[190]

Each September since 1997, York has held an annual Festival of Food and Drink. The aim of the festival is to spotlight food culture in York and North Yorkshire by promoting local food production. The Festival attracts up to 150,000 visitors over 10 days from all over the country.[191]

The Assize of Ale is an annual event in the city where people in medieval costume take part in a pub crawl to raise money for local charities. It has its origins in the 13th century, when an Assize of Bread and Ale was used to regulate the quality of goods. The current version was resurrected in 1990/91 by the then Sheriff of York, Peter Brown, and is led by the Guild of Scriveners.[192]

The Knavesmire, home of York Racecourse, plays host to Yorkshire's largest beer festival every September run by York CAMRA – York Beer & Cider Festival.[193] It is housed in a marquee opposite the grandstand of the racecourse in the enclosure and in 2016 offered over 450 real ales and over 100 ciders.[194]

York Ham

A product claimed to be local is York ham,[195] a mild-flavoured ham with delicate pink colouring. It is traditionally served with Madeira Sauce.[196][197] The ham has been described as a lightly smoked, dry-cured ham that is saltier but milder in flavour than other European dry-cured hams.[198] Folklore has it that the oak construction for York Minster provided the sawdust for smoking the ham.[199] A likely apocryphal story attributes Robert Burrow Atkinson's butchery shop, in Blossom Street, to be the birthplace of the original "York Ham", or at least to have made it famous.[200]

In 2010, York's city council and a number of heritage organisations submitted a bid for York's entire city centre to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[201] This nomination, to the UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport would have included York on a list of tentative sites to be reviewed by UNESCO itself. York's bid failed, leading to 'disappointment' from the team involved.[202] This indirectly led to the city making a successful bid to be part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of Media Arts.[203][204]

York Minster, a large Gothic cathedral, dominates the city.

York's centre is enclosed by the city's medieval walls, which are a popular walk.[205][206] These defences are the most complete in England. They have the only walls set on high ramparts and they retain all their principal gateways.[207] They incorporate part of the walls of the Roman fortress and some Norman and medieval work, as well as 19th- and 20th-century renovations.[208]

The entire circuit is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km), and encloses an area of 263 acres (106 ha).[209] The north-east section includes a part where walls never existed, because the Norman moat of York Castle, formed by damming the River Foss, also created a lake which acted as a city defence. This lake was later called the King's Fishpond, as the rights to fish belonged to the Crown. A feature of central York is the Snickelways, narrow pedestrian routes, many of which led towards the former market-places in Pavement and St Sampson's Square.[210] The Shambles is a narrow medieval street, lined with shops, boutiques and tea rooms. Its unusual name comes from an old English term for an open-air slaughterhouse or meat market.[211] Most of these premises were once butchers' shops, and the hooks from which carcasses were hung and the shelves on which meat was laid out can still be seen outside some of them. The street also contains the Shrine of Margaret Clitherow, although it is not located in the house where she lived.[212] Goodramgate has many medieval houses including the early-14th‑century Lady Row built to finance a Chantry, at the edge of the churchyard of Holy Trinity church.

• 
  The southern entrance to York, Micklegate Bar, is a 12th–14th century structure
• 
  The Shambles is a medieval shopping street; most of the buildings date from between c. 1350 and 1475
• 
  The Art Deco style Odeon Cinema on Blossom Street
• 
  The 1960s Brutalist-style Stonebow House

The Kings Arms

In June 2015 York CAMRA listed 101 pubs on its map of the city centre, some of which are hundreds of years old.[213] These include the Golden Fleece, Ye Olde Starre Inne, noted for its sign which has spanned the street since 1733,[214] and The Kings Arms, often photographed during floods.[215] On 18 June 2016, York CAMRA undertook a "Beer Census" and found 328 unique real ales being served in over 200 pubs in York, reinforcing the city's reputation as a top UK beer destination.[216]

Bettys Café Tea Rooms

In the centre of York, in St Helen's Square, there is the York branch of Bettys Café Tea Rooms. Bettys' founder, Frederick Belmont, travelled on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary in 1936. He was so impressed by the splendour of the ship that he employed the Queen Mary's designers and craftsmen to turn a dilapidated furniture store in York into an elegant café in St Helen's Square. A few years after Bettys opened in York war broke out, and the basement 'Bettys Bar' became a favourite haunt of the thousands of airmen stationed around York. 'Bettys Mirror', on which many of them engraved their signatures with a diamond pen, remains on display today as a tribute to them.[217]

York Community Stadium

The city's football team is York City who are competing in the National League as of the 2022–23 season. York have played as high as the old Second Division but are best known for their 'giant killing' status in cup competitions, having reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1955 and beaten Manchester United 3–0 during the 1995–96 League Cup. Their matches are played at the York Community Stadium as of 2021,[231] having previously played at Bootham Crescent since 1932.

The most notable footballers to come from York in recent years are Lucy Staniforth,[232] Under-20 World Cup winning captain Lewis Cook[233] and former England manager Steve McClaren.[234]

York also has a strong rugby league history. York FC, later known as York Wasps, formed in 1868, were one of the oldest rugby league clubs in the country but the effects of a move to the out of town Huntington Stadium, poor results and falling attendances led to their bankruptcy in 2002.[235] The supporters formed a new club, York City Knights, who played at the same stadium until 2015 when they moved to Bootham Crescent. In 2021, they moved to York Community Stadium.[236] As of 2022 the men's team play in The Championship[237] and the women's team play in the Super League.[238] There are three amateur rugby league teams in York; New Earswick All Blacks (in New Earswick), York Acorn and Heworth. York International 9s was an annual rugby league nines tournament which took place in York between 2002 and 2009.[239] Amateur side York Lokomotive compete in the Rugby League Conference.

Rugby union has been played in York since the 1860s, with multiple teams currently playing within the city. York RUFC was formed in 1928, and amalgamated with the York Cricket Club in 1966. The teams' home ground is at York sports ground at Clifton Park. The men's 1st team play in North 1 East, with the women's team in RFUW Women's NC1 North East championship.[240] York Railway Institute (RI) RUFC home ground is at the York RI sports club on newlane, York. The men's team currently compete in Yorkshire Division 4 South East (Yorkshire 4), and the ladies team play in the RFUW Women's NC1 North East championship.[241] Based at the York site of chocolate and confectionery maker Nestle Rowntree's, Nestle Rowntree RUFC was founded originally in 1894 and re-founded in 1954. They currently play their home games at York St. John University Sports Field and they compete in Yorkshire Division 4 South East (Yorkshire 4).[242]

York Racecourse

York Racecourse was established in 1731 and from 1990 has been awarded Northern Racecourse of the Year for 17 years running. This major horseracing venue is located on the Knavesmire and sees thousands flocking to the city every year for the 15 race meetings. The Knavesmire Racecourse also hosted Royal Ascot in 2005.[243] In August racing takes place over the four-day Ebor Festival that includes the Ebor Handicap dating from 1843.[244]

On 6 July 2014, York hosted the start of Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France. Starting the Départ Fictif from York Racecourse, the riders travelled through the city centre to the Départ Actuel on the A59 just beyond the junction with the Outer Ring Road heading towards Knaresborough.[245] In 2015, the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire was held as a legacy event to build on the popularity of the previous year, with the Day 2 stage finishing in York.[246]

Motorbike speedway once took place at York. The track in the Burnholme Estate was completed in 1930 and a demonstration event staged. In 1931 the track staged team and open events and the York team took part in the National Trophy.[247]

An open rowing club York City Rowing Club is located underneath Lendal Bridge.[248] The rowing clubs of The University of York, York St John University Rowing Club and Leeds University Boat Club as well as York City RC use the Ouse for training. There are two sailing clubs close to York, both of which sail dinghies on the River Ouse. The York RI (Railway Institute) Sailing Club has a club house and boat park on the outskirts of Bishopthorpe, a village3 miles (4.8 km) to the south of York. The Yorkshire Ouse Sailing Club has a club house in the village of Naburn,5 miles (8.0 km) south of York.

York hosts the UK Snooker Championship, which is the second biggest ranking tournament in the sport, at the York Barbican.

York is twinned with:

• Dijon, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, since 1953[258]
• Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, since 1957[258][259]
• Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, since 2016[260][261]

In 2016 York became sister cities with the Chinese city of Nanjing, in line with an agreement signed by the Lord Mayor of York, focusing on building links in tourism, education, science, technology and culture.[260][261][262][263]

On 22 October 2014 it announced the first 'temporal twinning' with Jórvík, the Viking city on the site of York from 866 to 1066.[264] In 2017 York became UK's first human rights city, which formalised the city's aim to use human rights in decision making.[265]

• John Kendal: 1482.[266]
• John Moore: 29 September 1687.[266]
• Cosmo Gordon Lang: 1928.[267]
• HRH Princess Royal: 1952.[266]
• Edna Annie Crichton: 1955.[266]
• Duke of York KG GCVO CD: 23 February 1987.[268] (Revoked by a Unanimous vote of the City of York Council on 27 April 2022).[269]
• Duchess of York: 23 February 1987.[270]
• HRH Duchess of Kent GCVO: April 1989.[266]
• John Barry OBE: 2002.[266]
• Dame Judi Dench CH DBE FRSA: 13 July 2002.[266][271]
• Berwick Kaler: 2003.[266]
• Professor Sir Ronald Cooke FRGS DL: 2006.[266]
• Neal Guppy: 2010.[272]

• The Royal Dragoon Guards: 24 April 1999.[273]
• 2 Signals Regiment: January 2001.[274]
• A Squadron The Queen's Own Yeomanry: 3 December 2009.[275]
• RAF Linton on Ouse: 19 September 2010.[276][277][278]
• The Queen's Gurkha Signals: 8 September 2015.[279][280]

• Imagine York: Historic Photographs – online council library archive of historic photographs of York, searchable by keyword

• The ancient parish of York: historical and genealogical information at GENUKI.
• History of York – comprehensive site dedicated to the history of the city
• Life in a Mediæval City Illustrated by York in the XVth Century – Gutenberg