England
Things you probably didn't know about York
A city where Romans, Vikings and medieval merchants all left their mark.
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71 — fact 1 of 5
It was a Roman capital
Founded as Eboracum in AD 71, York was where Roman emperors lived and, in Constantine’s case, was proclaimed emperor.
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866 — fact 2 of 5
It was a Viking capital too
Captured by the Great Heathen Army in 866, the city became Jorvik, a bustling Viking trading capital.
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1570 — fact 3 of 5
Guy Fawkes was born here
The man behind the 1605 Gunpowder Plot was baptised in York in 1570.
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Fact 4 of 5
The walls are the longest in England
York has more surviving city walls than anywhere else in England — over two miles of them, walkable end to end.
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Fact 5 of 5
The Shambles is memorably medieval
The overhanging timber-framed street, once lined with butchers’ shops, is among Europe’s best-preserved medieval streets.
Our York collection is part of a growing local-history library — more cities and facts are being added.