YORK, an English county, by far the largest in the kingdom. In extent it more than equals the two next largest counties, viz. Devonshire and Lincoln. According to the parliamentary returns of 1831, the whole surface is 5836 square statute miles, or 3,730,040 acres, or nearly one-ninth part of the southern division of the united kingdom. This county is bounded on the east by the German Ocean; on the north by the counties of Durham and Westmoreland; on the west by the latter county and Lancashire; and on the south by Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire. The river Tees on the north, and the Humber on the south, are boundaries marked by the hand of nature, and so, in some degree, are the ranges of hills on the western sides; but these last are indefinite, and, like most other divisions of counties, those of Yorkshire
York. are mostly imaginary lines, whose position is chiefly ascertained by local tradition.
This county is divided into three portions called Ridings, designated from their positions as the East, the North, and the West, and one smaller division called the Ainsty of York, comprehending the city of that name and a district surrounding it. As the statistical account of the population may be more appropriately shewn under the heads of the respective divisions, we need here only state the collective results of the several decennial enumerations that have been made in the present century. They are as follows. In 1801, 858,892; in 1811, 986,174; in 1821, 1,173,187; and in 1831, 1,371,359.
The members of the upper house of parliament taking their titles from places in the county are the following, viz. dukes of Richmond, Leeds, and Cleveland; marquis of Normanby; earls of Doncaster (duke of Buccleuch in Scotland), of Scarborough, of Pomfret, of Beverley, of Harewood, and of Ripon; Barons Hawke, Bolton, Ribblesdale, Prudhoe, and Wharncliffe. The representatives of Yorkshire in the House of Commons have been much altered by the reform act of 1832. The three ridings return two members each; the boroughs of Aldborough, Boroughbridge, and Hedon, which returned two members each, have been disfranchised; and Thirsk and Northallerton, which returned two, now elect but one each. The large towns of Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, and Halifax, have been created boroughs, electing two members each, as well as Wakefield, Whitby, and Huddersfield, which have one each. The whole county thus returns five more members than it did before the passing of the act in question.
The wealth and fertility of Yorkshire are much promoted by the rivers which in various directions pass through it, and by the several navigable canals, which either unite the different branches of those rivers, or draw from them a supply of water for their immediate use. The Tees forms a boundary to Yorkshire on the side of Durham, but a very small portion of its waters is collected from the former county. In the west riding, the rivers Ribble and Wenning flow towards the Irish Sea; but they are inconsiderable streams till they enter Lancashire. All the others that have their sources in Yorkshire empty themselves into the German Ocean, in a river then denominated the Ouse, through the great estuary the Humber. The Ouse is composed of two small rivers, the Swale and the Ure, which unite below Boroughbridge, and, soon after receiving the waters of the Nidd, passes by the city of York, to which place it is navigable. It is soon afterwards increased by the reception of the Wharfe on its right bank, and of the Derwent on its left. It then receives the river Aine, whose waters near Snaith have been increased by those of the Calder and its numerous tributary rivulets; and soon after, on the same bank, the river Don, when its breadth is nearly equal to that of the Thames. The most important canal is the Leeds and Liverpool, which connects together, by internal navigation, the two important ports of Hull and Liverpool, and affords to the manufacturers facilities of exporting their productions from either of those places, as may be most suitable for the various markets to which they are destined. There are several shorter canals, which connect the towns with the navigable rivers, or convey from the coal-mines their important produce. Many projects for the construction of railroads through this county have been formed, and some of the works have been begun; others are yet waiting for parliamentary or legal decisions; but a few years will produce great changes in the modes and facilities of communication.
The north riding of Yorkshire is divided into ten wapentakes, two liberties, and the towns of Richmond, Scarborough, and Whitby. The area of the riding is 1,315,200
acres, as measured on the best maps; while that resulting from the returns of each parish is only 1,275,820, a discrepancy that cannot be accounted for. Mr Tuke forty years ago estimated the area at 1,311,187 acres, of which 442,565 acres were then uncultivated. It is now supposed, though not ascertained, that more than one half of what was then classed as uncultivated has, within the last forty years, been rendered more or less productive.
The population at the four decennial enumerations has been found to be, in 1801, 158,225; in 1811, 169,391; in 1821, 187,452; and in 1831, 190,756. At the last of these periods, the males were 93,203, and the females 97,553. The families were 40,760, of whom 17,964 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 11,298 in trade or handicraft, and 11,498 were not comprised in either of the preceding classes. The number of males at that time under twenty years of age was 47,396; the occupiers of land employing labourers was 4950, of those not employing labourers 4334; the labourers employed in agriculture were 14,646; the persons employed in manufactures, or in making manufacturing machinery, were 1009; those employed in retail trade or handicraft, as masters or workmen, 12,749; the capitalists, bankers, professional or other educated men, 1870; the labourers employed in labour not agricultural, 4391; other males twenty years of age, excepting servants, 2836; male servants twenty years of age, 615; and under twenty years, 229. The female servants were 9261.
The land on the sea-shore is generally lofty, and the cliffs precipitous, varying in height from one hundred and fifty to nine hundred feet. Within this narrow sea-boundary is a tract called the Eastern Moorlands, about thirty miles from east to west, and fifteen from north to south. It is apparently a barren country, penetrated with some beautiful and fertile valleys, which are indeed narrow; but the hills that rise on both sides of them are cultivated nearly to the top. Rosebury-Topping, a mountain whose summit is 1480 feet above the level of the sea, overlooks the beautiful vale of Cleveland, and the other parts of the western division of this riding, especially the rich and picturesque districts in the vicinity of Boroughbridge and Richmond. The western moorlands are superior in fertility to the eastern. Some of the dales in this district are celebrated for their beauty and fertility, particularly Wensley Dale, Swale Dale, and some of the smaller sheltered spots.
The cultivation varies so much that it is difficult to give even an outline of the different practices. The greater portion of the land is in pasture. In Cleveland and Rye Dale the best wheats are grown; and the average produce is somewhat more than twenty-three bushels to an acre. Barley is not much grown, nor rye, except on poor and sandy soils. Oats are extensively cultivated, and great crops are produced in Rye Dale and some other of the dales. They are chiefly consumed in the manufacturing districts, where they form the food of the greater part of the labourers. In many parts of this riding, a mixture of wheat and rye is sown: this corn is commonly known by the name of meslin, and is made into flour, of which the bread of almost the whole district is composed. The breeding and fattening of cattle, and the operations of the dairy, are of more importance to this riding than the growth of corn. The cows are generally of the short-horned kind, and they are of small size, but clean made, and fine in the bone. The average weight of the oxen, when fat, is about forty stone. The sheep are still mostly of the old large coarse-boned race, but improvements are proceeding by the gradual mixture of the Dishley and Northumberland breeds. The fine wool clipped in this district is mostly consumed in the domestic manufactures of hosiery, in the knitting of which the females are very generally occupied.
The whole of Yorkshire has been long celebrated for its
attention to the breeds of horses, but the chief seat for rearing them is in the north riding. The horses of Cleveland being clean made, strong, and active, are well calculated for draft; those of the vale of York, by the introduction of the racing blood, are fitter for the saddle. The vales of the eastern moorlands rear many horses of a smaller but useful breed.
The mineral productions of this division of Yorkshire are of great account. To the west of Richmond some lead mines are advantageously worked. Iron and copper have been formerly raised. The former metal is still produced near Whitby and Scarborough, but the mines of the latter are abandoned. Coal is found in various parts of the riding, but the quantity is small and the quality bad; and hence the chief supply of fuel is obtained from Durham. The most valuable mineral production is alum, which is collected and prepared in large quantities at different works on the northern shore of the riding.
This division of Yorkshire can scarcely be viewed as a manufacturing district. The greatest portion of those employed in making goods are weavers of linen, which is a kind of domestic industry, in no one place employing more than 120 persons, and the whole of them not exceeding 400. Ship-building, and the attendant operations of making ropes, sail-cloth, and iron-work, employ many hands in and near Whitby; and on that part of the coast, at the proper season, the herring-fishery affords some occupation.
The most striking remains of antiquity in the riding are Scarborough Castle, and the abbeys of Rievaulx, Byland, and Whitby.
Among a vast number of seats of noblemen and gentlemen, some of the most conspicuous and celebrated are, Bhopsthorpe, archbishop of York; Castle Howard, earl of Clisle; Duncombe Park, Lord Feversham; Hornby Castle, die of Leeds; Kirkleatham Hall, Sir Charles Turner, Bt.; Marske Hall, Honourable L. Dundas; Mulgrave Ctle, the marquis of Normanby; Newby Park, Earl de Gey; Brompton, Sir George Cayley, Bart.; Rokeby, J. B. S. Morritt, Esq.; Gershams, duke of Cleveland; and Ate, earl of Zetland.
The largest towns in the riding, and the population of them in 1831, were these: Scarborough, 8369; Whitby, 753; Malton, 4173; Richmond, 3900; Northallerton, 394; Thirsk, 2838; Pickering, 2555. The elections for the riding are held at the city of York; and the other polling places are Malton, Scarborough, Whitby, Stokesley, Gaishborough, Romaldirk, Richmond, Askrigg, Thirsk, Northallerton, and Kirby Moorside.
The east riding of the county of York is divided into six precincts, the borough of Beverley, and the town and borough of Kingston-upon-Hull. The area of this the smallest of the three ridings, as measured on the map, is 75,160 acres, but the returns from parishes is only 711,360 acres, the difference probably arising from roads and rivers not being included in the computation.
The population at the four decennial enumerations has been found to be, in 1801, 110,992; in 1811, 133,975; in 1821, 153,854; and in 1831, 168,891. At the last of these periods, the males were 82,142, and the females 86,749. The number of families was 36,960, of whom 13,025 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 10,825 in trade, manufactures, and handicraft, and 13,110 were not comprised in either of these classes. The number of males at that time twenty years of age was 41,184. The occupiers of land employing labourers were 3331, and those not employing labourers were 1661; the labourers employed in agriculture were 12,727; the persons employed in manufactures, in making machinery, were 175; those employed in retail trade or handicraft, as masters or workmen, were 12,017; the capitalists, bankers, professional or other educated men,
were 2398; the labourers employed in other than agricultural work were 4663; other males twenty years of age (except servants) were 2627; the male servants twenty years of age were 625, and those under that age 234; the female servants were 6285.
This division of Yorkshire is not marked by any strong or peculiarly striking features, though in some few parts the scenery is good, and, including the sea-views, the prospects near the coast are rather pleasing. The riding may be divided into three parts, as far as regards its productive powers. The first is a tract of level land, extending from the river Humber to nearly the northern boundary of the district. This is in part a rich soil, and, including Holderness, contains some of the best feeding land in this island. The next division is the Wolds, running from north to south, parallel to the former. They are a range of chalky hills, elevated above the level country about 600 feet. The soil is rather a light and chalky loam, in some places mixed with gravel, in others with clay. The extent is from 300,000 to 400,000 acres. Thirty years ago, a very small portion of these Wolds was cultivated; but of late years much of it has been enclosed, and converted into corn-land. The want of good roads is still felt in this part of the country, though the materials for making such roads are abundant and near at hand. The third natural division of the east riding extends from the western foot of the Wolds to the boundaries of the north and west ridings. This tract, commonly called the Levels, is everywhere flat and unpicturesque. The soil is various, but in general of a clayey nature. From Gilberdike to Howden it is very heavy; and though the country is well covered with villages and hamlets, it is extremely dirty, disagreeable, and difficult to travel over.
No part of England shows more proofs of recent agricultural improvements than this riding of Yorkshire. The Wolds have been, by paring and burning, changed from sheep pasture into corn-bearing land. In the low lands great improvements have also been made; extensive tracts, formerly flooded a great part of the year, and scarcely producing any thing but rushes, have been drained, and are covered with such crops of grain that the value of the land has been increased in a most extraordinary degree. The Wolds, in their former state, were very well adapted for breeding horses; but in their present improved state are more profitable as affording pasture for sheep and as growing corn. The warrens for rabbits were formerly very numerous and extensive, but, for the most part, are now more productive by being covered with herbage of a better quality. The farms, especially on the Wolds, and in the southern parts of Holderness, are generally large, renting from £200 to £2000 per annum. The climate of the east riding varies considerably. Near the coast, the air is cold, and frequently charged with dense fogs. On the Wolds the cold is more severe, and the snow lies longer; but to the westward of the hills, the air is warm and moist, and tends to produce agues. There are no mines in this riding, and no manufactures, except the spinning of flax, which is performed by the ancient method, and is carried on by all the females in the farm houses at their leisure hours. The foreign and internal commerce of the riding is wholly carried on through the port of Hull, a place which has thriven during the last forty years as much as any portion of the kingdom. During that period, its population has been more than doubled, and its mercantile shipping and other property have been increased far beyond that ratio.
Extensive docks have been constructed for the reception of vessels, and for affording facilities in the landing and storing of their cargoes. Around these docks a new town has arisen, on what was formerly a swamp, and it surpasses the ancient part in cheerfulness and beauty. The foreign
trade of Hull consists in the importation from Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, of naval stores, and the other productions of those countries, and in the exportation to them of the manufactured goods produced in the counties of York, Lancaster, Derby, Chester, and Nottingham, with which the town is connected by means of canal and river-navigation. The same description of trade is carried on between Hull and the ports of Holland and Germany as exists between it and the towns on the Baltic Sea. Although these are the most ancient and the most natural sources of the commerce of Hull, yet to them it is by no means confined. Considerable trade is carried on with the United States of America, with the West Indies, with the ports of the Mediterranean, with Spain and Portugal, and recently with South America. The building and equipping of ships is a source of great employment, and some ships as large as those with 74 guns were built here during the war. Many vessels belonging to Hull shipowners are to be hired for freight, and may be found in almost every part of the globe. The whale-fishery has, from the first years of the discovery of Greenland, been pursued by the inhabitants of Hull, but with pre-eminent success ever since the year 1766, when an individual merchant of that town gave an impulse to that branch of industry, by which its prosperity has been much promoted. In order to promote the internal trade of this division of the county, the town of Goole, on the river Ouse, has, by a recent act of parliament, been made a custom-house and bonding port. Many ships now repair to it to load and discharge cargoes, from its being near to the chief seat of the manufacturing districts, where the population is the most dense, and where is the greatest production as well as consumption of various articles of merchandise. The trade with the interior, by the different rivers that empty their waters into the Humber, and by the canals that connect these rivers with each other, is of an extent which has no parallel in any other part of Europe, where their rivers have a course of navigation of much greater length.
The most interesting objects in this division of Yorkshire are the natural caves at Flamborough Head, York Minster, Howden Church, Kirkham Priory, Bridlington Priory, and Trinity Church in Hull.
The most distinguished seats of noblemen and gentlemen are Wressle Castle, Colonel Wyndham; Birdsall, Lord Middleton; Boynton, Sir William Strickland; Cave Castle, H. B. Barnard, Esq.; Burton Constable, Francis Constable, Esq.; Hotham, R. C. Burton, Esq.; Ragwell, D. Sykes, Esq.; Sledmere, Sir M. M. Sykes, Bart.; Woodhouse, Robert Denison, Esq.; Melburn, Sir Henry Vavasour, Bart.; and Scampson, Sir William St Quintin, Bart.
The election for members of parliament for the east riding is held at Beverley; and the other polling places are Hull, Driffield, Pocklington, Bridlington, Howden, Hedon, and Settrington.
The principal towns and their inhabitants in 1831 were, Hull town, 32,958, but including its very large suburb Sculcoates with 13,468, and Sutton with 4383 inhabitants, the population of the port was 50,809; Beverley, 8302; Bridlington, 4792; Howden, 4531; and Driffield, 2990.
The west riding of the county very far exceeds the other two in extent, population, wealth, and activity. It is divided into nine wapentakes; and beside these, a small district is, for election purposes, comprehended in this riding, although some parts of it are situated in the other two ridings. The division of this part, called the Ainsty of the city of York, comprehends the city itself and eighteen other parishes, whose extent is 54,400 acres. Leaving out this Ainsty, the west riding contains 2576 square statute miles, or 1,648,640 acres. The population at the four decennial enumerations was found to be, in 1801, 565,282; in 1811,
655,350; in 1821, 801,274; and in 1831, 976,350. At the last of these periods, the males were 485,812, and the females 490,538; the families were 198,646, of whom 31,188 were chiefly employed in agriculture, 118,733 were engaged in trade and manufactures, and 48,725 not comprised in either of the other two classes. The number of males at that time under twenty years of age was 231,666; the occupiers of land employing labourers were 7096; the occupiers of land not employing labourers were 10,636; the labourers employed in agriculture were 24,502; those persons employed in manufactures, or in making manufacturing machinery, were 74,699; those employed in retail trade or handicraft, as masters or workmen, were 60,109; the capitalists, bankers, professional and other educated men, were 8354; the labourers employed in labour not agricultural, 33,685; other males twenty years of age (excepting servants) 10,366; male servants twenty years of age, 2249, and under twenty years of age, 1025; the female servants were 22,107.
The face of the country furnishes scenes strikingly contrasted. The eastern portion, stretched along the banks of the Ouse, is generally a flat, moist, and marshy district, in some parts fruitful, but in all uninteresting to the tourist. The middle part, as far as Sheffield, Bradford, and Oole, is an undulating country, finely varied, and rising gradually till it reaches the most western portion, which is very rugged and mountainous. Beyond Sheffield, black moors are the only objects, till Blackstone Ledge is reached, on the confines of Lancashire. The western part of Craven presents heaps of rocks and mountains in the most picturesque forms and situations. Pennygant, Wharnside, and Ingleborough, the most conspicuous of these, may be classed among the loftiest mountains in England. According to the Trigonometrical Survey of Colonel Mudge, the height of Wharnside is 2263 feet, of Pennygant, 2270, and of Ingleborough, 2361. Amidst the hilly and mountainous tracts of this riding are many romantic and some sequestered valleys, presenting the most beautiful scenery. The most extensive of these are Netherdale, watered by the Nid, Wharfdale, and the vale of Aire; but many of the smaller vales vie with them in picturesque beauty, and, being generally enclosed, well wooded, and thickly studded with villages and houses, present, from the surrounding eminences, the most enchanting prospects, combining often in the same view the most sublime and the most lively of rural scenery. The roads from Knaresborough or Ripon to Pateley Bridge, from Tadcaster to Otley and Skipton, from Leeds by Bradford and Keighley to Skipton, from Bradford to Halifax, and from Halifax by Dewsbury to Wakefield, unfold some of the finest scenery that can be seen in this island. The climate of this riding is very much varied; in the eastern part, near the Ouse, it is warm and moist; in the middle district the air is sharp, clear, and generally considered healthy; in the western parts the climate is cold, tempestuous, and rainy. The mountains of Craven and the moors near Blackstone Ledge are the most foggy, rainy, and stormy districts in England, though the climate is considered to be salubrious to those of sound constitutions, and the inhabitants have a robust and healthy appearance.
A very great portion of the land of this riding is possessed by small proprietors, although some few noblemen have extensive tracts of land. Most of the occupancies are rather small; none is large; the greater part are less than fifty acres. A great part is kept exclusively in grass, and used for the dairy or for fattening cattle. On the arable lands a greater quantity of wheat is raised than of any other grain. It is mostly of the red kind, and is sown after fallow or turnips, but sometimes on a clover ley. Rye is not cultivated to any great extent. Barley is raised in much less quantities than wheat. Oats are cultivated to a great ex-
ent, but little attention is paid to procuring the best seed, and oatmeal forms the chief part of the food of the inhabitants, especially in the more western parts of the riding. Peas are not much raised, nor beans, except on the moorish hills near the Ouse. The turnip husbandry is not so extensively practised as good farming requires; and where it is sown, it is generally executed in a slovenly and imperfect manner. Great crops of potatoes are raised in the part of the riding below the junction of the river Aire with the Ouse. In the same part of the country much flax is sown, the preparation of the land for which employs the labour of many hands, as does the dressing and preparing the rice for market. Rape for making oil, and woad for the dyers, are both cultivated in this riding, but not to any great extent. The waste lands in the west riding were stunted about twenty-five years ago at 400,000 acres, of which 250,000 were considered capable of profitable improvement, and the rest fit for no other purpose but that of ploughing. Since that period much marsh land has been drained, many commons enclosed, and some bleak hills planted with Scotch firs and larches. Vast improvement has been made on some large tracts of land by the operation called warping, which is performed by permitting the river, at the highest of the tide, to overflow the land. The mud with which the turbid rivers abound is deposited on the surface, and each return of tide increases the earth deposited, so that a depth of alluvial soil of four or five inches has been raised by this means on a field which previously was of very little value. The lands thus improved are so enriched that they will yield abundant crops for several successive years without any manure. The horns cattle, sheep, and horses of the west riding have no distinguishing characteristics, but vary in kind, as in the other two ridings. The same care is not here exercised in improving the breed of horses as in the other two divisions of Yorkshire. The agriculture of this division, if it has not been rapidly progressive as in some other parts of England, has much improved within the last twenty years; and since, though in that period the population has increased fifty per cent., yet the quantity of corn required for other districts for its subsistence is scarcely greater than at the first period.
In his division of Yorkshire the mines produce great quantities of coal, ironstone, and lead, and vast quarries of limestone. The coal and limestone indeed appear to be inexhaustible. The limestone district commences from the tract between Doncaster and Tadcaster, and extends to the western limits of the county. The coal-mines are most numerous between Leeds and Wakefield, and in the neighbourhood of Bradford, Barnsley, and Sheffield, although there are many in other parts of the riding. Iron is found in the greatest quantities near Bradford, and often in the same mine with coal. The best strata of coals are those found under the seams of iron, at a depth from 200 to 240 feet below the surface. The chief mines of iron are at Grassington, a manor belonging to the duke of Devonshire, about ten miles to the westward of Pateley Bridge. It is more owing to the abundant supply of fuel than to any other single cause, that so much manufacturing industry has been developed in this part of Yorkshire, as in the neighbouring county of Lancaster. The great branches of industry which have so rapidly developed and so vastly enriched the west riding of Yorkshire are the several manufactures that have been established in every part of it. Scarcely a hamlet, or even a village, is to be found wherein some part of one or other of
the occupations of manufacture, or of those subservient to it, are not seen in different stages of progress. The iron and other hardware goods are produced at Sheffield, Rotherham, and all the villages in the vicinity of those towns. A little to the northward, the large towns of Leeds, Halifax, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield, and the overflowing villages of Almondbury, Kirk-Heaton, Birstall, Dewsbury, with many other places, are devoted to the production of woollen, worsted, cotton, and some linen goods. The progress of the two last fabrics, especially that of linen goods, has been most remarkable since the introduction of power-loom for weaving, and the improvements in machinery for spinning flax. To enumerate the various articles produced by the manufacturers of this most industrious of our districts, would be to copy a catalogue of almost everything adapted to the use of civilized life.
The most remarkable remains of antiquity in this riding are Selby Abbey, Knaresborough Castle, Fountain's Abbey, Skipton Castle, Bolton Priory, Kirkstall Abbey, Conisbrough Castle, and Roche Abbey.
In proportion to the great extent of the west riding of Yorkshire, it contains more seats of noblemen and gentlemen of distinguished beauty than any other part of Great Britain. Our limits do not allow of our even noticing one-tenth part of them, but the most remarkable are the following: Wentworth House, Earl Fitzwilliam; Harewood, Earl of Harewood; Farnley Hall, Walter Fawkes, Esq.; Ripley Castle, Sir William Ingilby; Metheley Park, Lord Mexborough; Gisborne Park, Lord Ribblesdale; Sandbeck, Earl of Scarborough; Studley Royal, Miss Lawrence; Ribstone Hall, Sir Henry Goodricke, Bart.; Coggrove, Henry Duncombe, Esq.; Bramham Park, James Lane Fox, Esq.; Wentworth Castle, Henry Vernon, Esq.; Cusworth Hall, William Wrightson, Esq.; Campsall, Bacon Frank, Esq.; Wortley Hall, Lord Wharncliffe; and Topcliffe, Earl de Grey.
The towns of the west riding whose population exceeded 10,000 persons in 1831 were, Leeds, 123,393; Halifax (parish), 109,854; Sheffield, 91,692; Bradford, 23,223; Dewsbury, 19,854; Huddersfield, 19,035; Saddlesworth, 15,986; Wakefield, 12,232; Keighley, 11,176; Doncaster, 10,572; Rotherham, 10,417; Barnsley, 10,330.
The riding returns two members to parliament; and the polls are taken at the following places, viz. Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster, Snaith, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, Barnsley, Leeds, Keighley, Settle, Knaresborough, Skipton, Pateley Bridge, and Dent.
York, a very ancient city, the capital of the county of the same name. It is 198 miles from London, and 201 from Edinburgh. This city ranks as the second in the kingdom, and is said to have been founded by Ebrancus, 983 years before the Christian era. In form it is very similar to Rome, the river Elbor (now called the Ouse) running directly through it. Little is known of its history till the year of our Lord 150, when it was one of the greatest Roman stations in the province, having an imperial palace, a tribunal, and a regular government within its walls, the same as at Rome. In 207 the emperor Severus undertook an expedition to Britain, and lost 50,000 men in defeating the Britons at York. He lived in the palace three years, and died there. His body was burnt on an elevated ground near the city, now called Severus's Hill, and his ashes were sent to Rome. He was succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, the former of whom murdered the latter in York, and returned to Rome. About a century after, Carausius landed in Britain, and was pro-
claimed emperor at York. He was slain by his friend Alectus, who in his turn was slain by the emperor Constantius, father of Constantine the Great, the latter of whom was born in York in 272, and left it in the fourth century. Constantius died in the palace at York in 307. In the twentieth year of the reign of Constantine, Octavius, king of the Britons, rebelled, but was subdued. Being afterwards joined by the Scots, he defeated the Romans. Britain was then connected with Gaul, and Constantine divided it into three parts, York remaining the metropolis. Constantine soon after this left Britain, and removed the seat of government to Byzantium. The Picts and Scots now rushed upon the Britons, and the latter engaged the assistance of the Saxons. York was consequently the scene of many a deadly conflict, Britons, Saxons, and Danes struggling for dominion, till William the Conqueror came and took possession of the English crown. In all the subsequent national troubles York has had her share, and was particularly conspicuous during the civil wars of Charles the First. The walls, gates, and posterns are to a considerable degree still remaining, and possess high and gratifying interest to the passing stranger. The walls, which are three miles in circumference, have a delightful promenade on the top of them, which commands a beautiful prospect of the surrounding country.
The civil government of the city, under the municipal corporation act, which divides it into six wards, is vested in a mayor (who still retains the title of lord mayor), twelve aldermen, and thirty-five councillors. There are also a recorder, town clerk, and prothonotary. The city gives the title of duke of York to the second son of the sovereign, and returns two members to parliament. The aldermen were formerly justices of the peace, but the magistrates are now appointed by the crown. The situation of York is on a pleasant and healthy plain, through which flow two rivers, the Ouse and the Foss. They are both navigable; but the former is the more important river, and, joining the Humber at no great distance, has a direct communication with the main ocean. There are two markets every week, one on Thursday, the other on Saturday. The latter is the principal, and is always plentifully supplied. There formerly was a division in connection with York, entitled the Ainsty, or County of the City. It was formed by King Richard in 1392. This division included thirty-five towns and villages. In 1837, however, this county of the city being joined to the west riding of Yorkshire, was parcelled into the eastern or York division, and into the western or Tadcaster division; the townships of the former to attend special and petty sessions at the castle of York, those of the latter at Tadcaster. There is another distinct and important division of the city, connected with the cathedral or church of St Peter, and called the Liberty of St Peter. In this division district courts are held, and magistrates preside, in connection with both ecclesiastical and common law.
The minster or cathedral stands the foremost among the public buildings of the city, and is worthy of the attention of every stranger. It is unquestionably the finest Gothic building of the kind in Europe; and in every respect may be pronounced, both as regards the interior and the exterior, truly imposing and magnificent. It was first founded in 626, by Edwin the Saxon king of Northumberland, and through succeeding ages has been enlarged, repaired, and improved, with great taste, and with a uniformity which is highly creditable to all concerned. Our limits will not allow of a minute description, but we may venture to give a brief outline. The nave, from the west end to the door of the choir, is 261 feet long, 109 feet wide, and ninety-nine feet high. The windows of the nave are long, narrow, and pointed, containing representations of some of the apostles, archbishops, &c. Near the south entrance 273
winding steps lead to the summit of the principal tower, from which there is a splendid view of the city and neighbourhood. The body of the nave comprises eight equal arches, the principal part of the western towers being supported by columns. Over the arches runs a curious gallery. On each side, and beyond the choir, are the monuments, many of which are highly interesting. In 741, the minster suffered much by fire. It was repaired, and in 1069, during the siege by the Northumbrians and Danes, was again the victim of that unsparing element. Being rebuilt, it remained the admiration of every beholder, till June 1137, when a tremendous fire in the city consumed it, St Mary's Abbey, and thirty-nine parish churches. It was partly rebuilt in 1171, and was subsequently enlarged. In 1829 the choir was set on fire by Jonathan Martin, a maniac, who hid himself behind a tomb after the evening service, and effected his purpose when all the vergers had departed. He was apprehended, tried, found guilty, and sent for confinement during life to the Criminal Lunatic Asylum, St George's Fields, London, where he died in 1838. The choir was repaired by subscription; and in May 1840, a fire broke out in the south tower of the western front. The flames quickly spread, and the fire continued all night, leaving that tower and the roof of the nave a complete wreck, the very excellent peal of bells having also been destroyed. On inquiry, it was discovered that a person from Leeds, who had been engaged to repair the clock, had been careless with his candle, and that it had communicated with a quantity of combustible matter on the floor, but that no intention to do mischief had ever been entertained. A subscription was again commenced, and the work of restoration is now rapidly advancing. We have already stated that the minster was founded in 626. We may here observe, that Paulinus was the first archbishop, having been instituted the previous year, and that from that time to the present there have been no fewer than eighty-three archbishops; the present being the Hon. Edward Vernon Harcourt, who was translated to the see in 1808. The archbishop of York is primate and metropolitan of England, and has the honour of crowning the queen, and of preaching the sermon at the coronation of the king. There are twenty-three churches in York, in addition to the cathedral; four Methodist chapels; three Independent chapels; two Quakers' meeting-houses; one Catholic chapel, and a nunnery, with extensive premises occupied as a Catholic ladies' school; a Unitarian chapel; and a Primitive Methodist chapel.
Among the charitable institutions of the city, we may mention the County Lunatic Asylum; the Retreat, for the same purpose, established by the Society of Friends; fourteen hospitals or alms-houses for poor widows, &c.; the County Hospital for the sick; the Eye Institution; the School for the Blind; the Blue-Coat Boys' and Grey-Coat Girls' Schools, &c. &c. The other objects of public interest are, the city-walls, the castle, the ruins of Clifford's Tower, the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens, the Assembly Rooms, the public cemetery, &c. York has also its railway stations, very splendidly built, under the direction of George Hudson, Esq., the spirited chairman of the York and North Midland Company. They are connected both with the north, the west, and the south; and the city is altogether improving beyond what has been known in former years. The population of York and its suburbs, according to the census of 1831, amounted to 35,362, viz. 16,510 males, and 18,852 females; the population of the city, exclusively of the suburbs, was 26,260, viz. 11,989 males, and 14,271 females. According to the census of 1841, the population of the city alone is nearly 30,000.
York Cape, the north-eastern promontory of New Holland, consisting of a double point, one of which is situated
edn long. 141. 36. E. and lat. 10. 37. S.; the other in lat. 10. 42. S.