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 1891 (now a 'county borough') 66,984. 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, and is of especial architectural interest owing to the fact of the fabric-rolls having been preserved, so that we know the precise dates at which the various portions were erected. Early in the 7th century Edwin, the first Christian king of Northumbria, founded, on the site of the present Minster, 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 Roger (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 (q.v.) between 1300 and 1330; and the Norman choir was replaced by a Perpendicular one, 1373-1400. The central lantern tower belongs to the beginning of the 15th century, 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 building. The fine Gothic structure of the Guildhall belongs to the 15th century.
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, and the Lunatic Asylum. 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 appropriately held there in 1881. For other events in the history of the city, see YORKSHIRE.