EXPLORING ROMAN YORK

ROMAN TOURS

27 Jun

Alliances, Ghosts and Hidden Roman Columns.

From the incredible architecture, innovation, sites and culture that the Romans brought to Britain it can be easy to overlook that Britain was a conquest, an invasion some may say, and almost all of the incredible Roman Cities that we have left behind were founded by the military as strongholds for various frontiers and missions. Several Legions in particular were responsible for the main Roman Campaigns across Britain but it is the campaigns of the IX Legion Hispana that bring us to our next Roman City, Eboracum, or better known as today, the City of York.

The IX Legion Hispana moved North through the country from their previous fortress at Lincoln and established the great military fortress here in York in 71 AD. But just what required such a strong military presence within this northern region? Well, the main reason for the creation of Eboracum was down to the Celtic Tribes that already existed in the territory. Rome had already forged an alliance with Cartimandua, the Queen of one of the Celtic Tribes here, The Brigantes, and this alliance was rather important at the time as it allowed both sides to benefit from trade and with a friendly ally monitoring the further reaches of the territory at the edge of the Empire in Britain, Roman Rule was strengthened. That was until Cartimandua created a marital scandal and a Brigantian Civil War broke out as a result. With Cartimandua’s rule and territory threatened by her jilted ex Venutius an active military legion was placed here to support Cartimandua and preserve the Roman Alliance with the Brigantes.

And so we have the creation of Eboracum. With the civil war quelled, Eboracum (York) remained an important stronghold in the Roman Military Network as it was so well placed within its geographical location. It could monitor and watch over the Brigantes and the other tribe in the region the Parisi and prevent any uprisings, The River Ouse provided an important transport link from the North Sea allowing the delivery of supplies as well as trade and it sat on a natural ridgeline that provided the main route of travel in that area (this ridgeline is actually still used as the main route today with the modern A64 largely following the original Roman line) as well as being an easily defensible location nestled in between two rivers. So it’s no surprise that the city of Eboracum went on to become such an important Roman City, from initial Fortress to Colonia to the Roman Capital of Southern Britannia, it even played host to several Roman Emperors who used Eboracum as their basepoint for campaigns in the North.

So with such a rich Roman History and highly stated establishment here just how much of the echoes of Eboracum can be found on the modern day streets of York today? Well, to find out we decided to start in the heart of Eboracum at Minster Yard, where several sites of Roman interest can easily be found.

That was until Cartimandua created a marital scandal and a Brigantian Civil War broke out as a result.

*Treasurers House sign, Ministers Yard.*

We first find ourselves exploring the beautiful garden sanctuary of Treasurers House, a lavish property and townhouse that was originally built for the treasurer of York Minster in 1091 AD. But much of the house that stands today is actually from a rebuild in the late 16th Century with very little of this original early Medieval house remaining. Last owned by the wealthy industrialist and passionate collector Frank Green, Treasurer’s House and its collections were donated to the National Trust in 1930. You might find yourself thinking, so we have a Medieval house, a 16th Century rebuild and a National Trust property. I'm not hearing anything very Roman sounding here? That is until you learn that the house actually has a Roman Road running through it’s cellar and it is believed that a colonnaded building would have stood on the same site in Roman Times.

So it is this Roman Cellar that we were here to see, however a mould infestation that had manifested throughout lockdown had rendered it uninhabitable to visitors and even the National Trust staff themselves weren’t permitted to enter the toxic cellar. So it was a no go, banned from entering the cellar, it was actually rather fitting in light of the ghoulish tale that had drawn us to Treasurer's House in the first place.

It’s the early 1950s, 1953 to be exact, and young apprentice plumber Harry Martindale has been employed for some renovation work in Treasurer’s House. He’s sent down to the cellar to make a hole in the ceiling ready for the installation of a pipe, but what Harry hasn’t realised is that he has rather unwittingly placed his ladder upon a section of recently excavated Roman Road. All is fine until around lunchtime when he starts hearing strange noises coming from behind the cellar wall, it could almost be the sound of trumpets or a horn. As the strange noise gets louder and louder it’s starting to sound like something is approaching, and something was. The shock of Harry's plumbing career, as he witnesses the figure of a man wearing a plumed helmet appear through the wall, this man is followed by another man on horseback and then over twenty others marching two abreast through the cellar. Roman Legionnaires. But the spookiest thing about Harry’s encounter is that the soldiers were only visible from the knees up, still walking upon the original Roman Street Level 18” below the current cellar.

So it was a no go, banned from entering the cellar, it was actually rather fitting in light of the ghoulish tale that had drawn us to Treasurer's House in the first place.

*Bronze statue of Constantine the Great.*

From ghostly Roman Legionnaires to the Emperor they created in York, just a short walk around Minster Yard towards the front of York Minster brings you right in front of the Bronze statue of Constantine the Great. Sadly this statue isn’t quite of Roman origin as it was commissioned by the York Civic Trust but it does commemorate one of the most important events to happen in Eboracum, Constantines accession as Roman Emperor in 306 AD.

As Caesar Constantine was in York with his father Constantius I after a successful campaign suppressing the hostile Picts beyond the Antonine Wall. But then Constantius I suddenly dies right here in the city creating the circumstances for one of the largest turning points and events in the history of the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great’s proclamation as Emperor made by the army stationed here in York, this went against the system of succession at the time and created the environment that Constantine needed to go forward and unite the Roman Empire back under one ruler to bring a level of stability back that hadn’t been seen in over 80 years. He is called Constantine the Great for a reason after all.

This unifying act was sorely needed within the Roman Empire as prior to Constantine’s rule the Empire was ruled under a system of Tetrarchy that was a direct result of the Crisis of the Third Century. With over 26 claimants alone as heir to the Roman Throne, uprisings around every corner and the Empire constantly threatening to fragment when it was already dangerously split into three separate parts a four part rule was brought in to try and stabilise a volatile environment, the Tetrarchy. This rule consisted of Two Augustii and Two Caesars ruling jointly over the East and the West but whilst this eased some of the tension the Empire remained unstable until Constantine the Great brought in his one mighty rule.

Not only did he bring back peace and stability but he also converted the Empire to Christianity as the first Roman Emperor to allow Chrisitians to worship freely. He instigated the celebration of the birth of Christ and basically helped to shape European History into the world that we know today. All momentous feats that have their origins right here in the City with one rebellious act by the Roman Army that challenged the system of succession.

Sadly this statue isn’t quite of Roman origin as it was commissioned by the York Civic Trust but it does commemorate one of the most important events to happen in Eboracum, Constantines accession as Roman Emperor in 306 AD.

But where would Constantine the Great have been proclaimed as Emperor? Well it is most strongly believed that this would have happened inside the Basilica, the main Roman Headquarters of Eboracum. Currently the Roman Basilica lies directly below York Minster, but more on that later, if you do a quick 180 from the Bronze Statue of Constantine the Great you should spot something rather out of place in these Medieval streets. An 8m high Roman Column.

This Roman Column is actually one of 16 similar columns that would have supported the roof of the Basilica building. It would have been built around 100 AD by the IX Legion Hispana as part of the original Roman Fortress that the city of Eboracum evolved around. Made from gritstone it's a lovely example of Tuscan Style Architecture which was the main style used by the Roman Military, but it hasn't stood in this exact spot for centuries as this column was actually discovered, collapsed, in 1969 during excavations in York Minster. Reassembled it was given to the city in 1971 by the York Civic Trust who erected it here to mark the 1900th anniversary of the foundation of the city by the Romans in 71 AD.

It is at this quite monumental Roman marker that we bump into our local guide for the day. Rob of Church Crawling. Based in Yorkshire Rob is in the history scene and produces content for both Instagram and Youtube that is based around historic walks to various churches across Yorkshire, highlighting the hidden historic architecture that often gets overlooked. He’s the perfect person to join us on our Roman Tour of Eboracum and even has some particular churches picked out for us which all contain echoes of Roman Eboracum within their walls.

It is at this quite monumental Roman marker that we bump into our local guide for the day. Rob of Church Crawling.

Rob is leading us out from the heart of the Roman Fortress on a winding trail through York’s Roman Streets, a trail that starts on the main Roman route out and into the city, the Via Praetoria, or as we call it today, Stonegate. Via Praetoria appear in most Roman Settlements and would lead straight from the front gate up to the front of the Basilica, the main Roman Headquarters. Following the same route as the Via Praetoria, Stonegate is actually basically still the same street, its name comes from the fact that it was first paved by the Romans and the original Roman paving still lies 6 feet below the modern day surface.

At the bottom of Stonegate the street opens up into St Helens Square which would have housed the great South West Gate into the Roman Fortress. The location of the Roman Gate is marked by a Commemorative Plaque and Cobbled Stone line across the square. With the Via Praetoria leading straight into the square it reveals that this would have been the main entrance into the Roman Fortress showing that it would have been facing the River Ouse which does make sense considering all the transport and trade links the river would have provided.

Making a harsh right from this South West Gate in St Helens Square we follow the line of the fortress wall into Museum Gardens where the Roman Fortress breaks into our modern day world in quite the substantial statement of the Multangular Tower. The Multangular Tower is the best example of standing Roman remains in York and can be found between the Yorkshire Museum and St Leonards Hospital, but you really can’t miss it.

This huge tower is largely still of Roman construction with only the larger stones of the upper half evidence of Medieval reconstruction and it comes attached to quite a lengthy and tall section of standing Roman Fortress Wall. It’s estimated that the tower would have stretched 10m high in Roman times and rather extraordinarily it has 10 sides, hence the name Multangular. The Roman Fortress at York would have contained two matching corner multangular towers overlooking the river with six interval towers in between; these towers were a result of a bit of military innovation by the Romans where they created towers in their defences which allowed soldiers to fire along the sides of the wall in case invaders attempted to climb them.

But the Multangular Tower and remaining Fortress Wall aren't the only Roman thing to be keeping an eye out in these Museum Gardens as you might spot some rather curious planters dotted about into the flower beds. These huge stone planters are actually stone Roman Coffins. Apparently during the building work of the 19th Century they just kept finding these Roman Sarcophagi and had such an abundance of them that there's quite an impressive amount left dotted around the Museum Gardens.

But the Multangular Tower and remaining Fortress Wall aren't the only Roman thing to be keeping an eye out in these Museum Gardens as you might spot some rather curious planters dotted about into the flower beds.

Leaving the Museum Gardens it’s time to cross the River Ouse and enter into the Walled Colonia where there aren’t too many Roman remains to be found, apart from the ones we are off to see of course. With a settlement on either side of the River Ouse naturally it is the Romans who built the first bridge across the Ouse. The Romans are quite famous for their revolutionary bridge building techniques that allowed them to build arched stone bridges that could bear the weight of full legions, trades and supplies. They did say that the Roman Empire was one of the greatest architectural forces of its time after all.

The historic church at All Saints North Street is our first stop in the walled colonia. A church that has a very early foundation upon the banks of the River Ouse in what was historically one of the smallest Medieval parishes in the city centre. The church contains some of the best Medieval glass compared to almost any other parish church in England, unique even in the City of York. But whilst this Medieval stained glass was breathtaking within the Church and Lucie had her favourite discovery of the day inside their elaborate panels spotting a small spill of hammered long cross pennies over a poor chaps deathbed. They weren’t quite the reason that Rob had brought us to this church.

No, the reason instead had something to do with the columns that were supporting the nave. Amongst these columns were two that rather stood out, for those with the keen eyes among us, two columns were made from a slightly different, much pinker stone than the rest of their family. These columns were actually made from Roman gritstone and are a rather beautiful example of Medieval recycling. When the Romans abandoned Eboracum at the end of Roman Rule in Britain they left behind an entire city of masonry and materials that in Medieval times simply got repurposed into their new constructions, Roman stone woven into the very fabric of Medieval architecture. That is what we have here two large pieces of Roman column reused as the Medieval columns in the Church’s nave. Who knew churches could be hiding such a wealth of history?

Well Rob is the man in the know and leads us to the next church stop in the walled colonia, the church of St Mary Bishophill Junior. This is yet again an example of a historic church that bears a large amount of Roman masonry within its construction. Much of this Roman material can be spotted as the large pinky gritstone blocks that make up the majority of the church's tower. St Mary’s Church itself dates from the 11th Century and it actually possesses the earliest surviving Church tower in the City of York.

That is what we have here two large pieces of Roman column reused as the Medieval columns in the Church’s nave.

With our eyes opened to a brand new vessel for historic remains, churches, we head down Micklegate and up onto York’s City Wall at Micklegate Bar for the loop back around into the Fortress and City Centre to visit possibly the most important Roman Site in York, the Basilica itself. But whilst we are upon this wall it’s important to mention that York’s City Walls were originally established by the Romans in 71 AD and these original walls survived right into the 9th Century, until in 866 AD York was invaded by the Vikings who simply buried the existing Roman Wall under a large earthwork and whacked some wooden stakes, sorry a palisade, on top. This palisade was eventually replaced with the Medieval wall that we find ourselves walking upon today but much of the original Roman Wall does still exist hidden underneath the embankment.

The crowning jewel of York's Roman Fortress and what all of these walls were built to protect was the Basilica, the main Roman Headquarters that hosted no less than three Roman Emperors during Eboracum’s lifespan. Today the Basilica lies right underneath the current crowning jewel of York’s City Centre, York Minster, and thankfully due to some emergency excavations that took place in 1965 - 72 due to an everpressing need to stabilise the collapsing central tower of the Minster, excavations that revealed a lot more than they bargained for, much of the foundations and finds from the Basilica are available on display in the Undercroft Museum.

It cost us £16 each to get into York Minster but once inside you can explore everywhere with no additional charges, including the Undercroft Museum which if you are planning to visit does shut at 4pm. Inside the museum is an incredible walkthrough exhibit that takes you through the many layers of history that surround York Minster, starting with the Roman. Amongst all of the artefacts, sections of fortress wall, coins, stamped tiles and all manner of Roman history, is one piece that you really must see. A large piece of original, elaborately painted section of wall plaster which would have come from an anteroom added to the main hall in the fourth century used only by commanding and senior officers. A stunning example of Roman art.

The Roman Basilica in Eboracum would have stretched 72 metres and would have been as high as the Minster’s Nave. Most of the remaining Basilica can be seen in the previously mentioned Undercroft Museum but we did find a cheeky base of column hidden in the Minister's Crypt for visitors to toss a coin for hopes of Roman luck.

Emerging from the depths of the Basilica’s foundations and out into the bright air of Minster Yard there is just one last site to stitch together this vision of Roman Eboracum that we have been uncovering all day, and that is to hop onto the City Wall again at Monk Bar where the current wall route still follows the original line of Roman Wall. It is up from the wall at Monk Bar that one of the important Roman interval and corner towers can still be seen with the foundations and remaining structure kept preserved in the embankment. These defences were important to discourage attacks but Fortress Cities like the one here at York were primarily a base for Roman missions to be controlled and sent off from. Despite that the site of the Fortress here at Eboracum with its Multangular Towers, Corner Towers, Interval Towers and impressive Fortress Wall would have been a rather formidable sight to any hostile onlookers.

With everything that we have seen today, unlocking the Roman History of Eboracum and piecing together the Roman Ruins across the city, we’ve walked absolutely miles and we don’t know about you but it’s right about time for a drink. We’ve deserved it and there’s only one place for it, The Roman Bath Pub. Just so named because there just happens to be an entire Roman Bathhouse fully excavated in its basement …. See you there!

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Lucilla Gray