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- This article is about the English city. For other meanings, see York (disambiguation).
York is a city in the north of England built at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. In 1991 the city had a population of 123,126. Its geographic coordinates are 53°57' North, 1°05' West.
York is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, to which it lends its name. However, it did not form part of any of the three ridings of Yorkshire. The modern City of York, created on April 1, 1996, is a unitary authority and an administrative county in its own right. As well as York itself, it includes a number of neighbouring parishes which formerly belonged to the surrounding districts of Harrogate, Ryedale and Selby. It borders on North Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The city is over 2,000 years old, and has a rich Roman and Viking history. The historical aspects of York attract a great deal of tourism. York is also known for its chocolate factories, and is home to the University of York. The city sometimes suffers from flooding.
History and tourism
York is renowned for its history, which is preserved in its architecture. The city was founded over 2,000 years ago, and for much of the intervening period has been the main city in the North of England. Every year, thousands of tourists flock to see the surviving medieval buildings, interspersed with Roman and Viking remains. The City Council has 27 Conservation Areas, no fewer than 2084 Listed buildings and 20 Scheduled Ancient Monuments in its care.
For the Romans, York ("Eboracum") was a major military base; Emperor Septimius Severus died there in 211 AD, and Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine I, died there in 306. In York, Constantine's troops proclaimed him emperor.
A "great Viking army" captured York in AD 866, and in 876 the Vikings settled permanently in parts of the Yorkshire countryside. Viking kings ruled this area, known to historians as "The Viking Kingdom of Jorvik", for almost a century. In 954 the last Viking king, Eric Bloodaxe, was expelled and his kingdom was incorporated in the newly consolidated state of England.
On March 16, 1190 a mob of townsfolk drove the Jews in York to corner them in the fortified Clifford's Tower, which was set alight. The Jews committed mass suicide by fire rather than face the inquisition of the hostile locals. It is an early happenstance of jingoism within England due to King Richard I of England's request for Jewish involvement in his personal finances for the Third Crusade. Because Prince John attempted to take England from his Plantagenet base in Angevin France by using these funds(which later prevented a ransom from being paid for the King), those who applied for loans had justified the attack as the result of unresolved loan disputes caused by foreigners and otherwise traitors on the Prince's side. York, populated by relatively simple people, has been notoriously poorer than London, which perhaps made the assault more understanding from a situational viewpoint, when they were exposed to Scottish raids from the North.
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in England, and dominates the city's skyline, while surrounding York's centre are the city walls, built by Henry III in 1220.
Another popular tourist attraction is the Shambles, an old street with overhanging timber-built shops, now occupied by souvenir shops as opposed to the original butchers. York is also home to numerous Ghost Walks where tourists can learn about York's folklore.
Modern York
Looking towards the Minster from the city walls
As well a tourist destination, modern York is a centre of communications, education and manufacturing. It is a major railway junction, situated on the East Coast, Cross Country and Transpennine mainlines.
Two large factories make chocolate (Nestlé Rowntree and Terry's), while another refines sugar. York is the home of Kit Kat, Smarties, the Chocolate Orange and the eponymous Yorkie bar. However, in April 2004, Terry's announced their intention to close their York-based operations.
The city has one of the country's leading universities (the University of York), a higher education college (York St John College) and a branch of the College of Law. The City's football team (York City) was relegated from the Football League to the Nationwide Conference at the end of the 2003/4 season. York also has a rugby league side, York City Knights. The York area is served by a local newspaper, the Yorkshire Evening Press.
York is also noted for its wealth of pubs. The York area is said to contain one pub for every day of the year, although this is now a little exaggerated. It is said, with perhaps a touch of poetic licence, that there is no point within the city walls where one can stand and not be able to see at least one pub and at least one church.
The city is prone to severe flooding from the River Ouse, and has an extensive (but not always effective) network of flood defences. These include walls along the Ouse and a barrier across the Foss (see River Foss). Much land within the city has always been too flood-prone for development. Partly as a result of this, there is an unusual amount of green space. The ings are flood meadows along the River Ouse, while the strays are scattered around the city in marshy, low-lying places; another such area is the Knavesmire. In summer, when they are drier, these areas are used for recreation, and some are grazed by cattles.
Etymology
This city was originally named by the Celts after the Yew tree. The Yew was Efrawg in Brythonic, Efrog in Welsh, Eabhrac in Irish Gaelic, Iorc in Scottish Gaelic, and Eboracum/Eburacum in Latin (after the Romans seized it). The next people to assume ownership of the city assumed that the earlier name meant "boar" because the way it sounded to them like the Germanic "Eber-"/"Ever-", which is why the Deira Angles translated the local names into Eofer-wic/Eofor-wic for their capital which became Northumbria's centre of power later on. The Swedes and their Norse counterparts just assumed that the city's local name was the way they should format their term for it, thus calling it Jorvik (pronounced Yor-vik in modern English), which eventually changed to York after the Normans introduced their hybridised tongue to the land. "Wic"/"Vik" means a fishing port, most notably in an estuary so could also be described a river port. See Viking.
York and Quakers
St Williams College near the Minster
York has a long association with the Religious Society of Friends. The York-born Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers
Joseph Rowntree and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree left an indelible mark on the city, through both their business interests and their
philanthropy. They built the village of New Earswick to provide quality affordable housing for their employees. They also founded two Quaker schools, and contributed in large part to the building of York Public Library and the creation of Rowntree Park.
The four Rowntree trusts, funded from the Rowntree legacies, are based in York.
Another notable York Quaker was the sculptor Austin Wright. The Retreat, opened in 1796 by William Tuke (great-grandfather of the painter Henry Scott Tuke), is a large Quaker mental hospital in the Walmgate area of the city.
Places of interest (City Centre)
The
Mallard locomotive, National Railway Museum
Places of interest (Suburbs and Villages)
Districts, towns, villages
- Acaster Malbis, Acomb, Askham Bryan, Askham Richard
- Bishopthorpe, Bootham
- Clifton, Copmanthorpe, Crockey Hill
- Deighton
- Dunnington
- Elvington
- Fishergate, Fulford
- Haxby, Heslington, Hessay, Heworth, Holgate, Holtby, Huntington
- Kexby, Knapton
- Middlethorpe, Moor End, Murton
- Naburn, Nether Poppleton, New Earswick
- Osbaldwick
- Rawcliffe, Rufforth
- Skelton, Stockton on the Forest, Strensall
- Tang Hall, Towthorpe
- Upper Poppleton
- West Huntington, Wheldrake, Wigginton, Woodthorpe
Notable People from York
External links
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da:York
de:York (England)
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