YORK - ENGLAND |
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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.
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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.
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 (York), 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
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 KitKat, 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
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)
Archaelogical Resource Centre
Bar Convent Museum
Barley Hall
Clifford's Tower
Jorvik, The Viking City
Micklegate Bar Museum
National Railway Museum
National Centre for Early Music
Treasurer's House
York Castle Museum
York City Art Gallery
York Dungeons
York Minster
Yorkshire Museum
Places of interest (Suburbs and Villages)
Archbishop's Palace, Bishopthorpe
Askham Bogs
Askham Bryan Hall
Elvington Hall
Haxby Hall
Heslington Hall
The King's Manor
The Knavesmire
Middlethorpe Hall, Middlethorpe Manor
Osbaldwick Hall
Skelton Hall, Skelton Manor
Vale of York
West Huntington Hall
York Racecourse
Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington
Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton
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, South Bank
Tang Hall, Towthorpe
Upper Poppleton
West Huntington, Wheldrake, Wigginton, Woodthorpe |
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