YORK CITY WALLS TRAIL
Anglian and Viking
After the Roman legions left York and Britain in about AD 400 we are not sure what exactly happened to the walls. It’s likely, however, that they continued to be crucial in attracting settlers to this spot. Even when all the buildings inside the walls had decayed, fallen or been demolished, the Roman walls still formed an impressive, defensible shield.
A grant of land made during the 7th century refers to the ‘city wall towards the south and a great gate towards the west’; this wall and gateway must have been the original Roman work. The Old English name of Aldwark (meaning ‘the old fortification’), now given to a street parallel to the north-east fortress defences, implies that the Roman wall was still visible at this point many centuries after the Romans had departed.
The Anglo-Saxons
Very little is known about what happened to the defences in the Anglo-Saxon period.
The Vikings
On 1 November 866 Viking invaders captured York.