History of York Roman Festival

 Introduction to the Festival

At the beginning of 2003, a group of dedicated and enthusiastic people got together to discuss the possibility of York having its first Roman Festival. By some sort of miracle it happened in July of that year. Since then the Festival has gone through a few changes trying to find an even balance where it can cater for many different levels in the education and entertainment of all things Roman.

One of our main aims has been to keep the festival free and accessible for everyone, which is something we have always maintained and are very proud of.

We are a non-for profit organisation with any money raised going directly to the festival. We rely on private sponsorship and if you are interested in helping please click here for more info. We are also always welcome of any help we can get with any aspect of the festival.

If you would like to get involved please e-mail info@completeyork.com

 Background

York is primarily a Roman city having been founded by the Ninth legion in 71AD.

There are many Roman “finds” to be seen around the city including part of the fortress wall standing almost to its complete height with a corner tower attached, which stands in the Museum Gardens. (There is also a much smaller section near Exhibition Square).

There are the remains of another corner tower near Aldwark, along with the mound in which the original wooden stakes were placed to form the first fortress. Underneath York Minster can be seen some fantastic sections of the Basillica (headquarters) that stood there and also in the city hidden beneath a pub are the remains of the military bathhouse.

Many of the Roman finds can be seen in the Yorkshire Museum, which is also in the grounds of the Museum gardens.
If you want to learn more about Roman York please click here.