Historical Characters

York has been the colourful and action-packed backdrop to a huge array of characters over the past two millennia. Here is just a random selection…

Septimius Severus

African-born Roman emperor, who died in Eboracum in 211. An intimate of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus – both recently portrayed in the global hit movie ‘Gladiator’. Some say he may even have been implicated in Commodus’ murder.

Guy Fawkes

The Gunpowder Plotter was baptised (a Protestant) at St Michael le Belfrey church in 1570, but later converted to Catholicism. The plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament was found out, but only after severe torture did Fawkes give up the names of his accomplices.

Margaret Clitherow

Wife of a Shambles butcher. Crushed to death for harbouring Catholic priests in 1586. The brave Clitherow also organised schooling for the Catholics of the city. Today the house is a shrine (located in the Shambles and open to visitors) and Margaret is revered as a martyr. Her hand, which was cut off after her death, is kept in the Bar Convent Musuem.

Constantine the Great

First Christian Roman Emperor: he was baptised on his deathbed. Declared Emperor in York 306AD. Under Constantine the powerbase of the Empire shifted east from Rome to Constantinople – named after him.

George Hudson

When the draper of College Street invested a legacy of £30 000 in the North Midland Railway in 1828 it spelled the beginning of York’s great Railway Age, and Hudson went on to become a Councillor, Alderman, Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor. He did indeed ‘mak all t’railways come t’York’, thereby making possible the city’s highly profitable sweet trade (fruit from Scotland and cocoa from Liverpool), but questionable financial dealings were ultimately his downfall. Dickens said of the man;”I disavow any allegiance to the ‘Railway King’…the Giant Humbug of this time, and not a pleasant illustration of our English Virtues.”

Dick Turpin

The dashing epitome of the dandy highwayman, complete with legendary mount Black Bess, or a brutal killer who was a good deal nastier than his romantic image suggests? Whichever the truth, one undisputed fact is that Turpin hanged at York Racecourse in 1739 – you can visit his condemned cell at the Castle Museum. A cool customer, it’s reported that he chatted amiably with guards and executioner on the gallows for half an hour before nonchalantly indicating that he was ready for the hangman to do his work.

Alcuin

Famed Anglo-Saxon scholar, who was educated at York’s cathedral school around 750. A major figure of York’s ‘Dark Ages’, he features heavily in local history exhibitions at the Yorkshire Museum.

Eric Bloodaxe

So called because he killed seven of his eight half-brothers. (They had been foolish enough to rebel against him). In 940 this deposed Viking King of Norway became King of York, only to be expelled in 954 and later murdered. One of the bloodiest figures in York’s bloody history.

For any further information and your free guide to York please contact: York Visitor Information Centre, Tel: 01904 550099, email: info@visityork.org or visit the website at www.visityork.org

Press contact: Kay Hyde, PR Manager - First Stop York tourism partnership, Visit York, Tel: 01904 554451, email: kh@visityork.org website: www.visityork.org