York is a rare treat for anyone remotely interested in the past. It’s rare because you don’t have to imagine It – York’s history is there in front of you; in the churches, walls, ruins and buildings. Living in the city, I always wanted to better understand these layers of history embedded in the urban landscape. But even though you can reach out and touch a 2,000 year old Roman column, the clues to York’s past are fragmentary, and deciphering them is not always easy. So I spent a few years building a detailed gazetteer, partly for my own benefit – but hopefully you’ll enjoy it too.
Secret York started life in summer 2013 as a mobile app, but it rapidly evolved into this website. At the moment it only covers the period of Roman occupation up to the late medieval era, mainly because this is the historic span I’m most interested in. Further later phases may be added in due course, when I’ve run out of places to write about (new places and information are being added regularly.)
This website has nothing to do with the ‘Secret York’ book by Paul Chrystal, which was published in winter 2014.
I was born in Suffolk but have lived and worked in York on and off for 25 years. For as long as I can remember I’ve been interested in understanding what our ancestors got up to – especially during the so-called Dark Ages.
Professionally I’m a project director and product manager. But I’m also a researcher and author. My other website – Secret Suffolk – is concerned with documenting the life and times, stories and myths of the martyred East Anglian king St Edmund, who also happened to be England’s first patron saint. You can buy my book on the site, or via Amazon, or in some Waterstones outlets.
I’m currently working on a new book with another Taylor – Jeremy Taylor – exploring early Anglo Saxon cosmology, ritual and belief.
Thanks for dropping by – feel free to drop me a line using the form below.
Mark Taylor.