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York is an historic walled city in North Yorkshire, England. At the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss, it is the county town of the historic County of Yorkshire. The cathedral known as York Minster and a variety of cultural and sporting activities make it a popular tourist destination. The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. It became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria and Jórvík. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, a role it has retained. The Latin term, Eboracum, has been shortened to Ebor and is used in place of York in certain contexts, such as in many company and place names, such as the Ebor race meeting. The Archbishop of York uses Ebor as his surname in his signature. In the 19th century, York became a hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre. The economy of York is now dominated by services. The University of York and National Health Service are major employers, whilst tourism has become an important element of the local economy. The City of York is now a unitary authority and includes rural areas beyond the old city boundaries. In the UK census of 2011, it had a population of 198,051.
[edit] Local governmentYork is the traditional county town of Yorkshire, and therefore did not form part of any of its three historic ridings, or divisions. Its Mayor has had the status of Lord Mayor since 1370. York is an ancient borough, and was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 to form a :municipal borough. It gained the status of a county borough in 1889, under the Local Government Act 1888, and existed so until 1974, when, under the Local Government Act 1972, it became a non-metropolitan district in the county of North Yorkshire, whilst retaining its Lord Mayor, its Sheriff and Aldermen. As a result of 1990s UK local government reform, York gained unitary status and saw a substantial alteration in its borders, taking in parts of the Selby District and the Harrogate District, and about half the population of the Ryedale District. York is now divided into 21 administrative wards, some of which represent the city districts in existence before 1974 and some the civil parishes previously located in Selby District, Harrogate District and Ryedale District. Some of the older parishes have been combined together in the formation of the new wards. The wards are named Acomb, Bishopthorpe, Clifton, Copmanthorpe Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington, Guildhall, Haxby and Wigginton, Heworth, Heworth Without, Holgate, Hull Road, Huntington and New Earswick, Micklegate, Osbaldwick and Derwent, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, Rural West York, Strensall, Westfield, and Wheldrake. [edit] HistoryWikipedia has divided the history of York into several sections: namely "Early history", "After the conquest", "16th to 18th centuries", and "Modern history". The article describes both historical events and economical progress. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article York-History.
[edit] Research TipsThe Victoria County Histories was a publication project that began in the early 20th century. Some volumes (but not all) are available online through the Institute of Historical Research of the School of Advanced Study of the University of London. They contain a great deal of information about the ownership of manors within individual parishes and quite often include family trees of the landowning inhabitants. The volumes available for the City of York are:
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[edit] Nineteenth century censuses and civil registration areasDuring the 19th century 29 ecclesiastical parishes within York and its immediate environs were also recognized as civil parishes, and are to be found in the UK Free BMD Index and on censuses. See the long list of civil parishes within York on the right toward the top of the page. They are provided so that they can be quoted directly when sources are requested here in WeRelate.
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