Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for YORK

YORK, a city, a district, an ainsty, and a diocese, in Yorkshire. The city stands on Watling-street, on the river Ouse at the influx of the Foss, and at a divergence of railways in six directions, 24 miles NE of Leeds, and 199 by road, but 192 by railway, N by W of London. It was a centre of Roman roads, coming to it in five directions; it is now a centre of railway-communication, from London to Edinburgh, and from coast to coast; and it commands sea-ward navigation by the Ouse, and very extensive inland navigation through the Onse's connections.

History.—York was known to the ancient Britons as Caer-Effroc, Ebrauc, or Eborac; to the Romans, as Eboracum; to the Saxons, as Eoferwic, Enrwic, or Yurewick; and it took its Saxon names from the river Ouse, anciently called the Eure or Yore, and retains them, by corruption, in its present name of York. Remote aborigines are made to figure in it, in old monkish fables, from about the time of the Hebrew King David. The Brigantes are supposed to have raised it, toward the commencement of the Christian era, into the condition of a considerable town. The Romans made it an imperial colony, and the capital of Maxima Cæsariensis; Agricola adopted it as one of his principal stations; Hadrian resided in it about the years 120-4; Severus was in it from 207 till 211, and died in it; Caracalla murdered his brother Geta in it in 212; Constantius Chlorus resided in it from 304 till 307, and died in it, in presence of his son Constantine the Great; and the Roman legion "Sextavictrix'' held it as their headquarters for about 300 years. Very many Roman relics have been found in it, including coins from Augustus to Gratian, inscriptions, statues, altars, urns, amphoræ, pipes, tiles, fireplaces, bronze instruments, gold and silver ornaments, bronze and jet ornaments, tombs, a pavement, and a temple foundation-stone; and Roman masonry, in part of the city-wall, and in a multangular tower, is still standing. Various native magnates, of doubtful authenticity, are recorded, by old annalists, to have held the city, for a series of years after the retirement of the Romans. The Saxons, soon after their land ing under Hengist, took it from the Scots and Picts. Arthur, in 524, after defeating the Saxons, took unopposed possession of it; and is said to have celebrated here the first Christmas ever held in Britain. The Anglo-Saxon kings, first of Deira, next of Northumbria, made it their capital, down to the time of Osbert. The Danes, under Inguar or Ivar, took it, and nearly destroyed it. Athelstan razed a castle which had been its chief defence, established a mint in it, and made it the seat of the Jarls or Earls of Northumbria. Harold Harfager besieged it in 1066, but was driven off by King Harold.

The city was a seat of letters, and of trade with the Continent, before the Norman conquest. The Normans, with but brief resistance, got possession of it, in 1068, immediately after the conquest; and they built a castle, and raised other fortifications, for its defence. The Saxons, aided by the Danes, retook it next year, and put the Norman garrison to the sword. The Conqueror denounced it as a nest of sedition, speedily retook it, and inflicted such terrible vengeance as almost entirely to depopulate the country around it, and all northward to Durham. It revived considerably before Domesday, and had then 654 house s and many churches. It was burnt, with its cathedraland with most of its churches, in 1137; was besieged, by David of Scotland, in 1138; was reinvigorated immediately afterwards, so as to have again a great trade with the Continent; was visited by Henry II. in 1160; was then the meeting-place of a parliament, and the place where Malcolm IV. of Scotland did homage for Northumberland and; was visited by Henry II. again in 1171; was then the scene of William the Lion of Scotland, with his barons and prelates, doing homage to the English king; witnessed the massacre of 1,500 Jews in 1190; was visited by Richard I., to meet William the Lion, in 1199; was visited by Henry III. in 1220: was then the place of the princess Joan's marriage to Alexander II.; was visited by Henry III. again, to spend Christmas with Alexander, in 1230; was visited by Henry III. again in 1251; was then the place of the princess Margaret's marriage to Alexander III.; was visited by Edward I., for the restoration of its walls in 1291, and for the holding of a parliament, in 1298; was visited by Edward II. in six different years, once to keep Christmas, once after the battle of Bannockburn, and once to hold a parliament; suffered assault by the Scots in 1319; was visited by Edward III. in five different years, twice to keep Christmas, once to marry Philippa of Hainault, and once to hold a parliament; was the place whence Queen Philippa, in her husband's absence, marched to the victory of Neville's Cross in 1347; became a staple for wool in 1354; was visited by Richard II. in 1385 and 1389; was ravaged by the plague in 1390, 1537, and 1604; rebelled, under Archbishop Scroop, against Henry IV. in 1405; was visited by Henry IV. in 1406 and 1408, and by Henry V. in 1421; and had, in Henry V.'s time, 2,000 house s, 41 churches, 17 chapels, 9 monasteries, and 16 hospitals.

The city sided with the Yorkists in the wars of the Roses; and took part in the battle of Wakefield in 1460, and in that of Towton in 1461. Edward IV. is said, by some authorities, to have been crowned in its cathedral; and he was here in 1464, before the battle of Hexham,- in 1471, before his march to Barnet,- and again in 1478. Several of the events of these years figure in the dramas of Shakespeare, and in the novels of Lord Lytton. Richard III. visited the city in 1483; and is said, by some writers, but not on good grounds, to have been crowned in its cathedral. Henry VII. made a grand entry into it, in his progress in the north, in 1489; and his daughter Margaret was here in 1503. The rebels against the dissolution of monasteries took the city in 1536; but were speedily subdued, and their ringleaders executed. Henry VIII. made it the seat of his new Council of the North in 1536, and visited it in 1540. The Council of the North was instituted for suppressing disturbances arising out of the measures of the Reformation; exercised severe functions over all the territory north of the Trent; and continued to sit in York till abolished by the long parliament in 1640. The Earl of Northumberland, for an abortive effort in favour of Mary Queen of Scots, was beheaded here in 1572. James I. visited the city in 1603 and 1617. A great flood and a drought damaged it in 1614. Charles I. visited it in 1633, 1639, and 1640: and he removed his court to it, on the approach of hostilities with the parliament. His general Cumberland made it the headquarters of the royal army; his queen Henrietta Maria brought to it a supply of arms from abroad in 1643; his forces refortified it, and were besieged in it during three months of 1644 by Fairfax; and his grand army, under Prince Rupert, was irretrievably beaten, at Marston-Moor, within sight of its walls. The city held out for the king during 13 weeks, but, eventually capitulated; and it was visited by Cromwell both then and in 1650. General Monk came to it in 1659, and proclaimed Charles II. in it in 1660. The Duke of York visited it in 1666 and 1679. The citizens formally declared for the Prince of Orange at the Revolution. The Duke of Cumberland visited the city on his way from Scotland, in 1746; Edmund, Duke of York, in 1761; the King of Denmark, in 1768; the Prince of Wales, in 1789; the Duke of Wellington, in 1827; the Princess Victoria, in 1835; the Prince Consort, in 1850; the Prince of Wales, in 1868. The British Association was organized in it in 1831; and the Royal Agricultural Society held a meeting at it in 1848.

Among the natives of York have been Alcuin, the tutor of Charlemagne; Earl Waltheof, of the 11th century; the hermit Flower, of the 12th century; Archbishop le Romain, who died in 1298; Archbishop Waldby, who died in 1398; the theologian Erghom, of the 15th century; Admiral Holmes, who died in 1558; the lawyer Swinburne, who died in 1620; the theologian R. Stoke, who died in 1626; Bishop Morton, who died in 1659; the annotator Poole, who died in 1679; the nonconformist theologians T. and J. Calvert, who died in respectively 1679 and 1698; the traveller Sir T. Herbert, who died in 1682; the theologian and scholar Cartwright; the antiquary F other gill, who died in 1713; the physician Wintringham, who died in 1794; Eliz. Montagne, who died in 1800; the physician G. Wallis, who died in 1802; Bishop Porteous, who died in 1808; Archdeacon Nares, the author of "Thinks I to Myself;'' the sculptor Flaxman, who died in 1826; the antiquary G. Higgins, who died in 1833; the painter W. Etty, who died in 1849; and the actor J. Smith, who died in 1855.-Many noblemen, especially sons of sovereigns, have taken the title of Duke from York; and the first royal one was Edward III.'s son Edmund de Langley, created duke in 1385: while the last was George III.'s son Frederick, who died in 1827.

Site and Structure.—The immediate site of the oldest parts of the city is a gentle acclivity, on the E bank of the Ouse, reaching its summit-level about 300 yards from the river. The environs, all round, to the distance of many miles, are flat, low, luxuriant plain. Many pleasant walks, shaded by trees and in excellent condition, are about the city, particularly along the banks of the Ouse; and some of them extend for miles. The nearest hills are the Yorkshire wolds, smooth and shadowy, about 20 miles to the E. The city's structure, till about the commencement of the present century, was remarkably antique and singular; and, notwithstanding numerous and sweeping changes which have been made upon it, still presents a striking mixture of ancient features with modern ones. Walls encompass all its ancient portions, on both sides of both the Ouse and the Foss; date from periods so remote as to include considerable portions of Roman masonry; were partly restored, partly rebuilt, in the time of Edward I.; suffered much injury in the siege of 1644; were repaired about 1669; fell gradually into great decay; were restored, paved with flags, and extensively converted into a pleasant promenade, in 1831; measure 2 miles, 3 furlongs, and 96 yards in circuit; are from 12 to 17 feet high; had formerly 6 gates, numerous posterns, and at least 40 towers; were protected, at the intersections of the rivers, by forts and chain-booms; continue, over most of their extent, to be in excellent preservation; and still have 4 gates, 5 posterns, and about 20 towers. The oldest portion goes from Walmgate-bar to the Red Tower; and rests on rude, irregular, and very ancient arches. Micklegate-bar, opening of the London road, appears to be Norman; consists of circular arch, square tower, and surmounting embattled turrets, crowned with statues; measures 26 feet in width of arch, 54½ feet in width of tower, and 53 feet in height; had formerly a strong barbican or outwork; and was often deformed with ghastly heads of persons executed as traitors. Bootham-bar, opening on the Edinburgh road, is partly Norman, partly of the 14th century, and partly of the time of Henry VIII.; measures 46 feet by 26½; was deprived of its barbican, and on the point of being entirely taken down in 1831; and was restored and strengthened in 1832. Monk-bar, opening on the Scarborough-road, is decorated English; was pronounced by M. Britton "the most perfect specimen of this sort of architecture in the kingdom;'' was restored in 1846; is loftier than any of the other bars; retains its portcullis; and consists interiorly of two stories of vaulted chambers, formerly used as prisons. Walmgate-bar, opening on the Bridlington road, is thought to stand on the line of Watling-street, and to take the name of Walmgate by corruption of Watlinggate; is chiefly of the 14th century; retains its barbican, projecting 56 feet from the entrance; presents, in other respects, a similar appearance to Micklegate-bar; and was restored in 1840. The Multangular tower, now in the Museum gardens, formed one of the angle towers in the walls of the Roman Eboracum; is proved to be Roman work, not only by the character of its masonry, but by the discovery of Roman legionary inscriptions in the lower courses of its interior; takes its name from having ten sides, forming nine obtuse angles; and consists of neat and regular courses of small square blocks of stones, with binds of five rows of red bricks.

The portions of the city inside the walls are, for the most part, compact. The portions outside are partly compact, partly dispersed or straggling; and they send off outskirts, in some directions, to considerable distances; but they aggregately contain less population than the portions inside. Most of the streets, in the ancient portions, are narrow and crooked; but some in these portions, and many in the suburbs, are spacious and straight. A fine wide street, called Parliament-street, is in the very centre; runs from an irregular but spacious thoroughfare called the Pavement, north-westward, to an open area called Sampson-square; and serves as the market place. Several good and straight streets, but none so spacious as Parliament-street, intersect the narrower and crooked ones; good straight streets also lead, beyond the walls, along the principal thoroughfares; and there is a beautiful crescent, called St. Leonard's-place. Many of the old streets have been widened; numerous old unsightly house s have given place to new and neat erections; blocks of houses which formerly obstructed a view of the grand W front of the cathedral have been entirely removed; and other important improvements, both of a general kind and on buildings, have been made. The general architecture exhibits curious minglings of the ancient and the modern, the rude and the ornamental, the dingy and the elegant. The general aspect, notwithstanding drawbacks, is one of respectability and comfort. A house in Newgate-street is of the 14th century; a house at the end of the Pavement comprises a stone basement of the 14th century, and a timber upper story of the 15th century; and several other houses, both private and public, exhibit interesting antique features. The New walk, along the Ouse, from the vicinity of the Castle downward, was laid out and planted with elms in 1733-4, and has a bath and a cold spring. The Esplanade is a similar walk along the Ouse, in the upper part of the city, from the wall at Lendal tower toward the Scarborough railway bridge. The racecourse is at Knavesmire, about a mile distant on the London-road; has a grand stand, erected by subscription in 1754; has also a stand, erected by the race committee in 1867; and is the scene of largely attended races in May and August.

Public Buildings.— The Castle stands between the Foss and the Ouse, a little above their confluence; dates from at least the time of the Romans, probably from those of the ancient Britons; was rebuilt by William the Conqueror, and again by Richard III.; is now represented chiefly by Clifford's tower, and by modern erections; and is encompassed by walls, enclosing an area of about 4 acres, with space to contain 40,000 persons. Clifford's tower was the-keep or donjon; took its name from one of the first governors; was reduced by fire, in 1684, to the condition of a mere shell; consists of four conjoined segments of circles, with walls from 9 to 10 feet thick; stands on a high artificial mound, engirt by a strong protecting modern wall; forms a prominent and picturesque object in the city's architecture; and commands, from its summit, an extensive view. The modern erections within the Castle-yard include a debtors' prison,-a county-jail, with capacity for 265 male and 36 female prisoners,-and a county-hall 150 feet by 45, with circular civiland criminal courts, surmounted by domes 40 feet high; and great part of them was built in 1826-36, at a cost of £203,530. The City jail stands adjacent to the Baile mound, within a S angle of the city wall; was built in 1802-7; is enclosed by a wall ¾ mile in circuit: and has capacity for 48 male and 17 female prisoners. The Mansion-house stands in front of the Guildhall, near the left bank of the Ouse; was built in 1726, after a design by the Earl of Burlington; has an Ionic front; and contains a banquet-hall 49½ feet by 27½, with portraits of three sovereigns and other his torical personages. The Guildhall adjoins the Onse; was built in 1446, and restored about 1840; is in the later English style, 96 feet long, 43 wide, and 29½ high, divided into nave and aisles; and has a number of fine stained glass windows, some of them put up in 1866-8. The Poor Law Boardroom offices were built in 1861.

The Assembly-Rooms were built in 1730-6, after designs by the Earl of Burlington; are in the Palladian style, with a portico; and contain a great room 112 feet long, 40 wide, and 40 high, in the Corinthian and Composite styles,-another room 66 feet long, 22 wide, and 22 high,-another room 43 feet by 15,- and a circular room 20 feet in diameter, with a cupola. The Concert-Room adjoins the assembly rooms; was built in 1824-50, by Atkinson and Sharpe; has Ionic pilasters, a figured frieze, and bronze doors; and is 90 feet long, 60 wide, and 45 high. The Theatre occupies the site of St. Leonard's hospital; and was adapted in 1765, by the actor Tate Wilkinson. The Merchant Company's hall, a society dating from the time of Edward III., occupies the site of the Virgin Mary's hospital. St. Anthony's hall was built in 1440, measures 81 feet by 27, and has an open timber roof. The free masons' hall was built in 1863. The Cavalry barracks are in the SE outskirts; occupy a site of 12 acres; were erected in 1795-6, at a cost of £27,000; and were enlarged during the ten years ending in 1869. A three-arched stone bridge, over the Ouse, was built in 1810-20, at a cost of £80,000; adjoins two spacious quays, or land s, for the delivery of goods; is 40 feet wide; and measures 75 feet in the span of its mid-arch, and 65 feet in the span of each of the side arches. A one-arched iron bridge, called the Lendal bridge, over the Ouse, was erected in 1863; measures 175 feet in the span of its arch; presents a general resemblance to Westminster bridge; and has, at each end, handsome approaches and lodges. Three minor bridges cross the Foss. The old Railway station stands within the SW angle of the city wall; is approached and left by all the converging railways, through a Tudor arch in the city wall: presents an elegant frontage to Tanner-row; has a covered stage 600 feet long; and, on account of its being a cul de sac, and therefore unsuited to continuity of progression in the trains, was condemned toward the end of 1865, as radically wrong. The new station was not begun to be formed in April 1869; was intended to be on the outside of the city wall, in the line of the direct route of the railways with a platform 1,200 feet long; and was estimated to cost £200,000. Other public buildings will be noticed in subsequent paragraphs.

The Cathedral.—The Minster stands on ground within the NE angle of the city wall; occupies the site of a wooden church of 627, and of a subsequent stone cathedral of 767; began to be rebuilt in 1069; ranges in date thence till 1472; comprises nave, transept, choir, Lady chapel, two W towers, a central tower, and a chapter-house; measures, in total length, 486 feet; is lofty, spacious, vast, and rich; towers like a giant over all the city; lifts its three towers, above the church steeples, like forest oaks among an underwood; and looks, in distant views, like a sharply defined hill, rising above the general level of the city's architecture. The nave is 264 feet long, 104½ wide, and 99½ high; the transept is 223½ feet long, 93½ wide, and 92 high; the choir, with presbytery and other adjuncts, is 223½ feet long, 99½ wide, and 120 high; the Lady chapel is 64 feet long, 100 wide, and 101 high. The W front is 109½ feet wide; the W towers are each 32 feet long, 32 wide, and 202 high; the central tower is 65 feet wide, and 213 high; and the chapter-house is 57 feet in diameter, and 68 high. A fine Norman crypt of four aisles, each of three bays, is beneath the choir. An other crypt, partly Saxon and partly Norman, also beneath the choir, was discovered in 1829, but is densely dark. The W front consists of a centre and two side divisions, and is adorned with various statues. The nave is of eight bays, and mainly decorated English, with geometric tracery. The transept is early English. The choir is of nine bays; and both it and the three towers are late perpendicular. The Lady chapel extends from the altar-screen to the E end of the cathedral; and has a great E window, 32 feet wide and 75 feet high, with stained glass in about 200 compartments, and with very beautiful tracery in the upper part. The towers can be ascended; and the central one commands a most magnificent view. Damage was done to the pile by fire in 1829, to the value of £65,000, and again in 1840, to the value of £23,000; and restorations of the parts destroyed were afterwards made with admirable effect; while other improvements went on, both to beautify the interior, and to clear away accretions and obstructions from the exterior. The principal monuments are tombs, effigies, or other memorials of Prince William de Hatfield, fourteen Archbishops, two Earls, Treasurer Haxey, the Hon. T. Wentworth, Dr. Burgh, and soldiers who fell in the Indian mutiny, the Burmese war, and the Crimean war. The Deanery, the Library, and the Canons' residence are near the N side of the Minster. Part of the cloisters of the Anglo-Norman palace of the archbishops was discovered during the progress of the recent improvements. The present archiepiscopal palace is at Bishopthorpe.

Ecclesiastical Affairs.—The livings in the city, or connected with it, are the rectories of All Saints-in-North-street, All Saints-Pavement-with-St. Peter-the-Little, St. Crux, St. Cuthbert, St. Denis-with-St. George, St. Margaret-with-St. Peter-le-Willows, St. Martin-Mickle-gate-with-St. Gregory, St. Mary-Bishopshill-Senior, St. Paul, St. Mary-Castlegate, St. Michael-Spurriergate, St. Saviour-with-St. Andrew, and Holy Trinity-Good-ramgate-with-St. John-Delpike-and-St. Maurice; the vicarages of St. Helen-Stonegate, St. John-Ousegate, St-Lawrence, St. Martin-in-Coney-street, St. Mary-Bishops-hill-Junior, St. Michael-le-Belfrey-with-St. Wilfred, Holy Trinity-in-Kings-Court, St. Olave-with-St. Giles, St. Sampson, and Holy Trinity-in-Micklegate; and the p. curacies of Naburn, Clifton, St. Thomas, and Dringhouses. Value of All Saints-in-North-street, £166; of All Saints-Pavement-with-St. Peter-the-Little, £120; of St. Crux, £120; of St. Cuthbert, £347; of St. Michael-le-Belfrey, £300;* of St. Denis-with-St. George, £150; of St. Margaret-with-St. Peter-le-Willows, £213; of St. Martin-Micklegate-with-St. Gregory, £243; of St. Mary Bishopshill-Senior, and of St. Mary-Bishopshill-Junior each £300; of St. Paul, £330; of St. Mary-Castlegate, £120;* of St. Michael-Spurriergate, £91;* of St. Saviour, £180;* of Holy-Trinity-Goodramgate-with-St. John-Delpike-and-St. Maurice, £150;* of St. Helen-Stonegate, £103; of St. Lawrence, £140; of St. Martin-in Coney-street, £163;* of Holy Trinity-in-Kings-Court, £75; of Holy Trinity-in-Micklegate, £138;* of Naburn, £80; of St. John-Ousebridge, £280; of Clifton, not reported; of St. Olave-with-St. Giles, £130;* of St. Sampson, £109; of St. Thomas, £200; of Dringhouses, £127. Patron of All Saints-in-North-street, All Saints-Pavement, St. Crux, St. Cuthbert, St. Denis, St. Margaret, Mary-Bishopshill-Senior, St. Mary-Castlegate, St. Michael-Spurriergate, St. Helen-Stonegate, Holy Trinity-in-Micklegate, Holy Trinity-Goodramgate, and St. Thomas, the Archbishop of York; of St. Martin-Micklegate, St. Paul, St. Saviour, and Clifton, Trustees; of St. Lawrence, St. Martin-in-Coney-street, St. Mary Bishopshill-Junior, St. John-Ousebridge, and St. Michael-le-Belfrey, the Dean and Chapter of York; of Holy Trinity-in-Kings Court, Wells Hospital; of Naburn, the Rev. W. L. Palmes; of St. Olave, Countess Cowper; of St. Sampson, the Sub-Chanter and Vicars-Choral of York; of Dringhouses, Dr. Wilkinson. A new church was built at Heworth, by Lady Wheeler, in 1869. The places of worship in the city, at the Reformation, exclusive of those connected with monasteries and with monastic institutions, were the cathedral, 41 parochial churches, and 17 chapels. The places of worship within the municipal borough, in 1851, were 24 of the Church of England, with 12,181 sittings; 2 of Independents, with 2,760 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 1,000 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 40 s.; 4 of Wesleyans, with 3,719 s.; 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 500 s.; 1 of the Wesleyan Association, with 550 s.; 2 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 1,700 s.; 1 of the New Church, with 60 s.; 1 of an isolated congregation, with 150 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 990 s. The places of worship within the city and its outskirts, in 1869, were 33 of the Church of England , 2 of Independents, 1 of Baptists, 1 of Quakers, 1 of Unitarians, 9 of Wesleyans, 2 of Primitive Methodists, 2 of New Connexion Methodists, 2 of U. free Methodists, and 2 of Roman Catholics.

Many of the churches possess interesting features, and, but for the immediate vicinity of the Minster, would attract much attention. All Saints is a mixture of decorated and later English; and has a fine spire, and some good stained windows. All-Saints'-Pavement is said to have been originally built out of the ruins of the Roman Eboracum; had an octagonal lantern-tower, with a nightly light for guiding travellers through Galtres forest; was rebuilt in 1837; and now has a very graceful lantern-tower. St. Crux' was built in 1424, and has a brick tower and cupola of 1697. St. Cuthbert's is later English. St. Denis' is mainly a mixture of decorated and later English, and has a Norman doorway. St. Margaret's has a fine Norman porch, brought to it from St. Nicholas' hospital, and comprising four united circular arches, all curiously sculptured with figures, chiefly hieroglyphically. St. Martin's-Micklegate is an old edifice, with Roman stones in its walls; and has a steeple rebuilt in 1845. St. Mary's-Bishopshill-Senior is early and decorated English. St. Paul's was built in 1852. St. Mary's-Castlegate is of considerable antiquity, was restored in 1869, and has a fine spire 154 feet high. St. Michael's Spurriergate is partly ancient, but mostly rebuilt. St. Saviour's was restored in 1844-5. Holy Trinity-Goodramgate is old, and has some curiously stained glass. St. Helen's occupies the site of a temple to Diana, and has a handsome octagonal lantern-tower. St. Lawrence' was partly ruined in the civil war, and has a Norman doorway. St. Martin's-in-Coney-street is later English. St. Mary's-Bishopshill-Junior retains traces of early English, and has a tower either Saxon or anciently reconstructed on a Saxon model. St. Maurice' is partly later English and in bad condition; and was designed, in 1869, to be rebuilt on an enlarged plan. Holy Trinity-Kings-Court, or Christchurch, was rebuilt, excepting part of the E wall, in 1863. Holy Trinity-Micklegate is of mixed style, and has a steeple rebuilt since 1651. St. John's Ousebridge is very old, and has remains of a steeple blown down in 1551. St. Michael's-le-Belfrey takes its name from contiguity to the bell-towers of the cathedral; was rebuilt in 1535, in late perpendicular architecture; and is the largest and most elegant church in the city. St. Olave's-Marygate was rebuilt, out of the ruins of St. Mary's abbey, in 1705. St. Sampson's was restored in 1852. St. Thomas' was built in 1854; Clifton church, in 1867; and Fulford church, in 1866. The Lunatic asylum church was built in 1865, and is in the geometric style. The Independent Salem chapel was built in 1838, at a cost of £5,000. The Baptist chapel was built in 1867, at a cost of £3,600; and is in the early English style, with a pinnacled tower. The Wesleyan Centenary chapel was built in 1839-40, at a cost of £7,780; measures 90 feet by 68; has a stone front, in the Ionic style; and underwent improvement in 1866. St. Wilfred's Roman Catholic church was built in 1864, at a cost of about £10,000; is in the Italianised Gothic style; measures 111 feet in length, 59 in width, and 62 in height; and has a tower and roof-spire 147 feet high. An Ursuline nunnery is outside Micklegate bar, and a community of Poor Sisters without Walmgate bar. A spacious ultra-mural cemetery is at Fulford.

St. Mary's Benedictine abbey stood within the area of the present gardens of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, outside the city walls, between Bootham-road and the river Ouse; occupies the site of a Roman temple of Bellona, and of a priory of St. Olave founded about 1078; was begun to be built in 1088 by William Rufus; was destroyed by fire in 1137; was rebuilt in 1270-91 by Abbot de Warwick; grew to be one of the most prominent abbeys in England , with mitred dignity and a seat in parliament; had 50 monks, and a yearly revenue of £2,091, at the dissolution; gave place partially to a palatial edifice, called the King's Manor, for the residence of the Lord President of the Council of the North; was further taken down, in 1701 and subsequent years, for the repairing or rebuilding of York Castle, St. Olave's church, Beverley minster, and other structures; and is now represented by very diminished but highly interesting ruins. The church was transitional early English; measured 371 feet in length; appears to have had a remarkably beautiful W front; and survives mainly in the N wall of the nave, with richly ornamented doorway, and eight very fine windows. A Norman arch, now the entrance to the Museum gardens, from Marygate, was the principal entrance to the abbey; and a curious stone and timber building, now restored and used as a museum for antiquities, is supposed to have been the hospitium for strangers. A wall was built by the monks for defence from assaults of the citizens, and is still partly standing. St. Leonard's hospital also stood within the area of the present Museum gardens; was founded, in 936, by Athelstan; was rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in 1137; became one of the largest and richest establishments of its kind in the N of England; and has left very interesting ruins, comprising the entrance-passage, the ambulatory, and a beautiful early English chapel. St. Peter's hospital, in Mint-yard, was erected in 1080-1100, by William the Conqueror and William Rufus; and has left some Norman remains. St. William's college for priests, in Vicars lane, was founded in 1252, by Archbishop de Grey, and restored in 1460 by the Nevills; and has left an arched gate and some other remains. A Benedictine priory, near Micklegate, a cell to Tours abbey, was founded about the time of the Norman conquest; and was long represented by a gate which was taken down a few years prior to 1869. A priory was founded, about the time of the Norman conquest, by R. de Paganel; another priory was founded, in 1202, by H. Murdac; a priory of St. Nicholas was founded before 1405; an Augustinian friary, before 1278; a grey friary, by Henry III.; a black friary, in the time of Henry III., by B. Stapylton; a white friary, in 1255, by De Vesci and Percy; a crutched friary, in the time of Edward II.; a nunnery at Clementhorpe, before 1145; a preceptory, in the time of Henry I., by W. Percy; St. Sepulchre's college, before 1161, by Archbishop Roger; a St. Anthony's hospital, in 1440, by J. Langton; an hospital at Bootham, in 1314, by Dean Pykering; another hospital at Bootham, before 1481, by J. Gyseburgh; an hospital at Fossgate, called Trinity hospital, in 1371, by J. de Rowcliff; and an hospital of St. Nicholas, before the time of Stephen; but all these have entirely disappeared.

Schools and Institutions.—St. Peter's grammar-school was founded, in 1557, by Queen Mary; was rebuilt in 1830-3; and is in the Tudor style. Archbishop Holgate's grammar-school was founded in 1506, and has £78 a year from endowment. The boys' blue-coat school, and the girls' greycoat school, have about £2,000; and Houghton's St. Crux school has £180. National schools, for about 1,000 children, were established in 1812; and there are other public schools. The diocesan training-school was built at a cost of £12,000, and is in the Tudor style. The Yorkshire school for the blind occupies the Manor-house, previously noticed in connexion with St. Mary's abbey; was established, in 1833, as a memorial of the late W. Wilberforce; and is supported by subscriptions and donations. The school of art was established by government; and serves both as a school of design and as a school of engineering.-The Philosophical society was founded in 1822; gives great prominence to matters of antiquity, geology, and natural his tory; and has, within the Museum gardens, extensive premises, built in 1827-30, with a Doric front 200 feet long, and containing lecture-room, library, and a very rich museum. The Subscription library was founded in 1796, and contains about 18,000 volumes. The Institute of science and literature, the Church Institute, and the Gentlemen's Club and Commercial Newsrooms, are prominent institutions.-The County hospital was founded in 1740; was rebuilt in 1850; and measures 90 feet by 75. The Eye infirmary was established in 1831; and the dispensary, rebuilt in 1827-8. The York lunatic asylum was built in 1777, has a frontage of 132 feet, and stands in large grounds. .A lunatic asylum, called the Retreat, and instituted by Quakers, was built in 1796, has accommodation for 140 patients, and stands on a plot of 14 acres. The pauper lunatic asylum, for the N. and the E. Ridings, stands at Clifton. There are 15 suites of alms-house hospitals; and they serve for about 135 persons, and have aggregately an endowed income of about £1,700. The total of endowed charities, including those for schools and alms-house hospitals, is about £4,525.

Trade and the Borough.—The city has a head post-office,‡ a telegraph-station, four banking offices, and ten chief inns; is a seat of assizes, quarter sessions, petty sessions, county courts, and ecclesiastical courts, a place of election, a polling place, and the head-quarters of the 2d W. York militia; and publishes three weekly newspapers. A general weekly market is held on Saturday; a cattle market, on alternate Thursdays; a wool market, on every Thursday from Lady-dayto Michaelmas; a leather market, on the first Wednesday of March, June, Sept., and Dec.; fairs, on Whit-Monday, 10 July, 12 Aug., and 23 Nov.; and a horse show, during the entire week before Christmas. Commerce has never been so extensive as the facilities for export might have made it, and is now less than formerly. A considerable trade is done in drugs, tea, coffee, and confectionery. The general retail trade is very large. The manufacture of linens was at one time flourishing, but fell away. The making of combs, gloves, shoes, saddlery, and glass is considerable; and there are roperies, tanneries, breweries, and large iron foundries.-The city was first chartered by Richard I.; is governed, under the new act, by a lord-mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors; and has sent two members to parliament since the time of Henry III. The police force, in 1864, comprised 40 men, at an annual cost of £2,592. The crimes committed, in 1863, were 82; the persons apprehended, 78; the known depredators and suspected persons at large, 120; the houses of bad character, 89. The corporation revenue is about £7,830. The municipal boundaries include 27 parishes, parts of 6 other parishes, and 2 extra-parochial tracts; and the parliamentary boundaries include, in addition, another township and parts of 3 others. Acres of the borough, 2,720. Real property in 1860, £600,841; of which £463,486 were in railways, and £4,442 in gasworks. Electors in 1833, 2,893; in 1863, 4,581. Pop. of the m. borough in 1851, 36,303; in 1861, 40,433. Houses, 8,242. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851, 40,359; in 1861, 45,385. Houses, 9,162.

The District and the Ainsty.—The registration district comprehends Skelton sub-district, with 2 parishes and 4 parts in the North Riding; Bootham sub-district, with 1 parish and a part in the N. R., and 15 parishes and an extra-parochial tract in the E. R.; Micklegate sub-district, with 3 parishes and 4 parts in the E. R., and 3 parishes and 4 parts in the W. R.; the sub-district of Walmgate, with 11 parishes, 3 parts, and an extra-parochial tract in the E. R., and parts of 2 parishes in the N. R.; the sub-district of Escrick, with 1 parish and 4 parts in the E. R.; the sub-district of Dunnington, with 3 parishes and 2 parts in the E. R., and 5 parishes and a part in the N. R.; and the sub-district of Flaxton, with 2 parishes and a part in the N. R. Acres, 82,912. Poor rates in 1863, £26,137. Pop. in 1851, 54,257; in 1861, 59,909. Houses, 11,913. Marriages in 1866, 641; births, 1,987,-of which 124 were illegitimate; deaths, 1,574,-of which 599 were at ages under 5 years, and 34 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 5,976; births, 19,027; deaths, 13,718. The places of worship, in 1851, were 64 of the Church of England , with 20,927 sittings; 3 of Independents, with 2,880 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 1,000 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 40 s.; 36 of Wesleyans, with 7,851 s.; 8 of Primitive Methodists, with 806 s.; 2 of the Wesleyan Association, with 618 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 1,800 s.; 1 of the New Church, with 60 s.; 3 undefined, with 388 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 990 s. The schools were 84 public day-schools, with 6,922 scholars; 88 private day-schools, with 2,112 s.; 62 Sunday schools, with 5,937 s.; and 2 evening schools for adults, with 43 s. The district includes part of the poor-law union of Barwick-in-Elmet. -The Ainsty lies to the W of the city; contains 16 parishes, and 6 parts; ranked as a wapentake till 1448; was annexed to the city from 1448 till 1837; and was made a wapentake of the West Riding in 1837; but, for parliamentary representation, is in the North Riding Acres, 50,151. Pop. in 1851, 9,599; in 1861, 9,896. Houses, 2,032.

The Diocese.—The bishopric of York is alleged to date from at least the year 314; the archbishopric, from at least the time of Paulinus. The archbishop places the crown on the Queen-consort's head at coronations; and, since the latter part of the 14th century, has been styled primate of England, while the archbishop of Canterbury is styled primate of all England. Among the archbishops have been Paulinus, Chad, Wilfrid, and John of Beverley, who were canonized; Aldred, who made the Norman invader kneel to him for pardon; Thurston, who won the battle of the Standard; William, who died from a poisoned chalice and was canonized; Roger, the antagonist of Thomas à Becket; Geoffrey Plantagenet, the brave son of Henry II.; Gifford, who was lord-chancellor; De la Zouche, who took David Bruce a prisoner in battle; Thoresby, who was lord-chancellor, and who extolled the hearing of God 's word in English far above the listening to masses; Scrope, who was beheaded; Bowet, who was lord-treasurer; Neville, who was lord-chancellor, and was despoiled by Edward IV.; R other ham, cardinal, lord-chancellor, and founder of Lincoln college, Oxford; Savage, the noted sportsman; Baynbridge and Wolsey, the cardinals; Heath, denounced in old age by Elizabeth; Hutton, whose sermons "pinned Elizabeth's shroud about her face;'' Matthew, the punster; Monteigne, who won his preferment by a pithy saying to James I.; Neile, who was the last to burn a heretic; Williams, the pluralist lord-keeper; Frewen, the author of the "Whole Duty of Man;'' Dolben, noted for facile extemporaneous preaching; Sharp, who plumed himself on the alternate study of the Scriptures and Shakespeare; and Blackburne, the buccaneer. Eleven of the dignitaries became cardinals. The cathedral establishment includes the archbishop, the dean and precentor, four residentiary canons, a chancellor of the church, a sub-dean, a succentor, three archdeacons, twenty-four honorary canons, a chancellor of the diocese, and two minor canons. The income of the archbishop is £10,000; of the dean, £2,000; of each of the four residentiary canons, £700.

The province comprehends the dioceses of York, Ripon, Durham, Carlisle, Manchester, Chester, and Sodor and Man. The diocese, as now constituted, comprehends York city, the East Riding, the North Riding, and the portion of the West Riding eastward of the western boundaries of Monkton-Moor, Bilton, Walton, Thorpe-Arch, Bramham, Aberford, Ledsham, Castleford, Featherstone, Normanton, Warmfield, Crofton, Wragby, Felkirk, Roystone, Darfield, Tankersley, and Ecclesfield parishes; and is divided into the archdeaconries of York, East Riding, and Cleveland . Acres, 2,261,493. Pop. in 1861, 930,216. Houses, 191,650. The archdeaconry of York comprises the deanery of York city, with 25 livings; the d. of Ainsty, with 14; the d. of Doncaster, with 46; the d. of Ecclesfield, with 11; the d. of Pontefract, with 29; the d. of R other ham, with 37; the d. of Selby, with 18; the d. of Sheffield, with 26; and the d-of Tadcaster, with 20. The archdeaconry of the East Riding comprises the deanery of Beverley, with 30 livings; the d. of Bridlington, with 16; the d. of Buckrose, with 21; the d. of Harthill, with 16; the d. of Hedon, with 24; the d. of Hornsea, with 20; the d. of Howden, with 15; the d. of Pocklington, with 18; the d. of Scarborough, with 21; and the d. of Weighton, with 14. The archdeaconry of Cleveland comprises the deanery of Bulmer, with 27 livings; the d. of Easingwold, with 25; the d. of Guisbrough, with 17; the d. of Helmsley, with 24; the d. of Malton, with 14; the d. of Northallerton, with 17; the d. of Stokesley, with 28; and the d. of Thirsk, with 19.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a city, a district, an ainsty, and a diocese"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: York AD_City/Borough       Yorkshire AncC
Place names: CAER EFFROC     |     EBORAC     |     EBRAUC     |     EURE     |     YORE     |     YORK
Place: York

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