This section is from the book "Chambers's Concise Gazetteer Of The World", by David Patrick. Also available from Amazon: Chambers's Concise Gazetteer Of The World.
York, the county town of Yorkshire, is situated at the confluence of the river Foss with the Ouse, 188 miles N. of London by rail. It is the seat of an archbishopric, the centre of the northern military district, and returns two members to parliament. The population of the municipal borough in 1881 was 61,789, and in 1901 (now a 'county borough') 77,793. The city, together with the surrounding district called the Ainsty, is under the jurisdiction of a lord mayor, twelve aldermen, and thirty-six councillors. York was known as Eboracum under the Romans, of whom many relics still remain, chief among them being the building known as the Multangular Tower. The numerous sepulchral monuments, pavements, and other relics now preserved in the museum were mainly found in the extensive Roman cemetery discovered in digging the foundations of the railway station. From the time of Henry II. for five hundred years parliaments occasionally sat at York, as the name of Parliament Street still bears witness, while under Henry III. the courts of King's Bench and Exchequer were held here. The Minster is among the most magnificent of English cathedrals. Early in the 7th century Edwin, the first Christian king of Northumbria, founded here a church which perished by fire in 741. The church was rebuilt, but, during the conflagration of the city at the time of the Norman invasion, was again destroyed, with the exception of the central wall of the existing crypt, which also contains portions of the Norman church erected by Archbishop Rodger (1154-81). Early in the following century the beautiful Early English transepts were added by Archbishop Gray. The present nave was built between 1291 and 1345; the graceful Decorated chapter-house between 1300 and 1330; and the Norman choir was superseded by a Perpendicular one, 1373-1400. The central lantern tower belongs to the beginning of the 15th c, and the two western towers were added between 1430 and 1470. In 1829 the roof and carved choir-stalls perished in an incendiary fire, and in 1840 another fire destroyed the roof of the nave and the splendid peal of bells, reducing the south-western tower to a mere shell. Especially worthy of notice is the Decorated stained glass, the great east window being almost unrivalled. The extreme length of the Minster is 524 feet, of the transepts 250, and the breadth of the nave is 140 feet; the height of the central tower is 216, and of the western ones 201 feet.
The Benedictine Abbey of St Mary possessed great wealth and importance. It was founded in the reign of Rufus, but was largely rebuilt towards the end of the 13th c. The existing ruins are principally those of the beautiful abbey church, while the old Guest-house has now been appropriated as a storehouse for Roman and other antiquities. There is a fine R. C. pro-cathedral (1864). The present walls, 2 3/4 miles in circuit, are mainly of the time of Edward III., though in many parts they follow the line of the Roman earthwork. They are pierced by picturesque gates, locally called Bars, of which Bootham Bar and Micklegate Bar are especially well preserved. The castle, with its picturesque Clifford's Tower, is situated close to the river, and is believed to date from the time of Edward I., though older portions may be included in the structure, which suffered severely during the siege of 1644. The Assize Courts are now held here. The fine Gothic structure of the Guildhall belongs to the 15th c. There are several endowed schools: St Peter's School under the government of the Chapter, founded in 1557; Archbishop Holgate's Free School, dating from the time of Henry VIII.; the Blue-coat School for boys, the Grey-coat for girls, and the Yorkshire School for the Blind. Among other institutions may be enumerated the County Hospital, the Dispensary, the Lunatic Asylum, and the Free Library, opened by the Duke of York in 1S93. York is an important railway centre, and its station (1873-77) is one of the largest in England. The British Association was organised at York in 1831, and its jubilee meeting was fappropriately held there in 1881. Alcuin, Guy Fawkes, Flaxman, and Etty were natives. See Canon Raine's York (' Historic Towns' series, 1893).
York, the capital of York county, Pennsylvania, on Codorus Creek, 28 miles by rail SSE. of Harrisburg. It has a large granite court-house, a handsome collegiate institute, foundries, car-factories, railway-shops, planing-mills, and manufactories of shoes, condensed milk, etc. York dates from 1741, and was the seat of the Continental congress for a time in 1777. Pop. (1880) 13,940; (1900)33,708.
York, a river of Virginia, formed by the union of the Pamunkey and Mattapony, and flowing south-eastward to Chesapeake Bay, nearly opposite Cape Charles. It is 40 miles long, and from 1 to 3 miles wide.
 
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