History of the York City Walls

York has been a walled city since the Romans settled here 2,000 years ago. Unfortunately most of the original Roman Walls are no longer visible. Some sections were used as the foundations for the current walls, whilst other areas gradually disappeared over the centuries, as the stones were taken for other buildings. Sadly a few sections of the walls were demolished to make way for expansion of the city.

The York City Walls that you see today have been built upon centuries worth of different fortifications, as you can see from the diagram below:

There are a few small parts of the Roman walls still visible today, including a section next to Kings Manor in Exhibition Square, the Multangular Tower in Museum Gardens and the Eastern Gatehouse, sitting on the other side of the Ice House next to Monkgate Bar.

At Monkgate Bar there is a map of the original Roman York Walls illustrating how much smaller the city was then.

As the city expanded as a centre of commerce and military significance throughout the 12^th century, new ambitious plans for a large circumference of walls were considered to defend the city from invaders.

By the time that the York city walls were completed in the 14^th century, they encompassed a defensive perimeter of over 2 miles, surrounding the entire city, including two river crossings of the Ouse.

Holiday In York | York City Walls

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