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Did You Know?

Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due to its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions, such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire.

It is a historic walled city that was founded by the ancient Romans, at the base of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, and is the traditional county town of Yorkshire to which it gives its name to.

York was once the capital of England, when the Vikings made York the hub of the country thousands of years ago. The city of York was now effectively the capital of a new Viking kingdom, this being known as Danelaw.

Actress Dame Judi Dench is known for her roles in many James Bond films including Casino Royale and Skyfall, as well as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Dame Judi was born in York.

The North York Moors Steam Railway was actually the location of the very first Harry Potter film! Once you see for yourself, you’ll be in doubt that you’re in the world of Harry Potter!

York is known for being a hotbed of horse racing but a little known fact is that there has been racing here since Roman times. There are recordings of gatherings in various open spaces around the city particularly in the forest of Galtres but also on Acomb Moor.

The first succesful chocolate bar to be launched in York was Kit Kat in 1935 by Rowntree, and it’s still the biggest seller of chocolate bars today!

The city walls (also called the Bar Walls) were built in medieval times on the site of earlier Roman walls and are the longest city walls in England. The walls average 4 metres/13 feet high, 1.8 meters/6 feet wide and are approximately 3.4 kilometres miles long. It will take around 2 hours to walk a circuit of city walls. 

The unusually named (and much photographed) Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate lies between Fossgate and The Shambles. Blink and you will miss it.

Another fact that locals like to brag about is that there are (allegedly) 365 pubs in the City of York – one for every day of the year.

It was an Anglo-Saxon trading port in the 7th century known as Eoforwick.  The first wooden church was built here in 627 AD and was given the name Minster which is an Anglo Saxon term for a teaching church connected to a monastery.

Legend states that Guy Fawkes was born in Stonegate, and records confirm that he did indeed go to school there, but there is much speculation as to how he died.