Events
Next Previous-
1486 A.D.
Henry VII Visits
Read More Henry defeated the York's favourite, Richard III, to win the crown in 1485. He visited York within a year.
If the city was to prosper again it was vital that its citizens made a good impression. No expense was spared to win over the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty.
Read more -
1487 A.D.
Henry VII Visits Again
Read More Henry was back in York the following year.
This time he had a thousand noblemen with him, dressed for battle.
read more... -
1536 A.D.
The Pilgrimage of Grace
Read More This rebellion which threatened the whole Tudor dynasty began in Yorkshire and came to York in October 1536.
Robert Aske led some 5000 men on horseback through the city protesting against Henry VIII's reforms.
read more... -
1539 A.D.
York's Abbey is Dissolved
Read More Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries reached the wealthiest abbey in the north in October 1539.
Smaller religious houses had gone in the years before, now the crown had its sights on the big prize of St Mary's Abbey.
read more... -
1586 A.D.
Margaret Clitherow Executed
Read More The suppression of the Catholic religion in the reign of Elizabeth I led to many deaths.
York's famous martyr was Margaret Clitherow who was put to death for her beliefs on 25 March, 1586.
read more... -
1642 A.D.
King Charles retreats to York
Read More When the London mob made life too dangerous for King Charles I in the capital, he moved to York, bringing his family and court with him.
Foreign ambassadors, members of the nobility and officers of the state were compelled to come to the city too.
For six months York was, in effect, capital of the kingdom again.
read more... -
1644 A.D.
City Under Siege
Read More On April 11, 1644, the parliamentary army inflicted a heavy defeat on royalist forces from York.
Their commander was captured and as many as two-thirds of the 3,000 strong army were killed or captured.
Within days, parliamentary and Scottish armies were encamped less than a mile from York’s walls.
read more...
Outside the Walls
Next Previous-
1492 A.D.
Christopher Columbus
Read More Christopher Columbus an Italian explorer lands on Bahamas Archipelago in the Carribean while looking for a sea route to India.
-
1502 A.D.
Mona Lisa
Read More Leonardo da Vinci painted Lisa from Florence in about 1502. The painting, of course, became one of the best-known images ever created.
A few years earlier Leonardo had painted another masterpiece - The Last Supper - described by E.H. Gombrich as 'one of the great miracles wrought by human genius'. -
1558 A.D.
Elizabeth I
Read More Elizabeth I accedes to the throne.
-
1588 A.D.
The Spanish Armada is defeated
Read More The Spanish Armada was Phillip II of Spain’s attempt to conquer England. 130 ships carrying 30,000 troops set sail but ran into fierce storms. A much depleted force was met and heavily defeated by the English fleet.
-
1603 A.D.
Queen Elizabeth I dies
Read More This is the first time that the kingdoms of England Wales And Scotland had been united under one monarch.
-
1605 A.D.
The Gunpower Plot
Read More The Gunpower Plot was the audacious plan of a small band of English Catholics to blow up the king and parliament. Guy Fawkes, from York, was found with 36 large barrels of gunpowder underneath the House of Lords.
The failure of the Plot is celebrated on November 5th as Guy Fawkes Night. -
1620 A.D.
Pilgrim Fathers
Read More The ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ set sail for America in the ‘Mayflower’ in an attempt to escape religious persecution.
-
1642 A.D.
English Civil War
Read More The English civil war begins between the Royalists and Parliamentarians.
-
1653 A.D.
Oliver Cromwell
Read More Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector following the execution of Charles I.
-
1666 A.D.
The Great Fire of London
Read More The Great Fire of London destroys two-thirds of the city.
