A Date with History

Join our expert speakers as they explore the complex causes and dramatic consequences of the invasions and regime change of 1066. How was Norman power imposed on England, particularly in the north?

What should children eat and why? Discover how childhood and food have shaped each other through history – and still do – with writers Deborah Albon and Amy Palmer.

Historian and broadcaster Anna Whitelock offers a panoramic history of the arrival of the Stuarts, revealing how the reign of King James I saw England reach new corners of the globe.

Join Jonathan Brockbank of the University of York as he explores two fictional responses to the bombardment of Scarborough in 1914 - Osbert Sitwell's Before the Bombardment and Winifred Holtby's The Crowded Streets.

Join historian Jane Draycott as she reclaims the life story of Fulvia, one of the most powerful women of the late Roman Republic.

Join British Museum curator Rachel King and discover the Tudor Heart, a unique 24-carat-gold pendant linked to Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon.

Join historian Katherine Harvey for a fresh look at medieval wellness as she sheds light on the practical and surprisingly relatable ways medieval individuals cared for body and mind.

Join us for a guided walk through York as we commemorate spaces where queer folk used to meet, chat, dance and organise.

Peel back the layers of York’s hidden history with archaeologist John Creighton and discover what ground penetrating radar has revealed about the evolution of York.

In 1939, Sutton Hoo revealed a ghostly 27m ship imprint in the sand. Martin Carver, Director of Research at Sutton Hoo, explores the reconstruction of this 7th-century vessel and planned trials to put it back on the water.

What is sound heritage and why does it matter? Join Mariana J López of the University of York as she introduces methods for studying the sounds of the past and explains its role in creating immersive museum and online experiences.

Join historian Alec Ryrie for a fresh take on modern history and pop culture as he examines our Nazi fixation and the unravelling of post-war moral consensus today.

Join historian Sadiah Qureshi of the University of Manchester as she explains that extinction is both a natural process and an unnatural human act.

A retinue of reciters perform a selection of Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry and prose, both in translation and in the original. Come and join us in the beorsele or beer-hall of the Black Swan.

Join historian Justin M Jacobs as he challenges the widely accepted belief that many of Western museums’ treasures were acquired by imperialist plunder and theft.

Moving from myth through history to contemporary popular culture, writer Kevin Wetmore explores cannibal monsters and ghouls that feast on human flesh.

From Asia to the Americas, historian Lauren Benton provides a sweeping account of how small wars shaped global order in the age of empires, redefining war and peace.

Learn how the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management has established the York Minster Precinct as a world-class campus facility for research, education and training in traditional craft skills.

Join Bruno Carvalho of Harvard University for a kaleidoscopic and original new history of urbanisation, from Lisbon to New York, Paris to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires to Lagos.

Step back in time on a guided walking tour of York’s rich printing history led by Thin Ice Press: the York Centre for Print.

What has happened to Britain? Historian A G Hopkins argues the country’s current problems stem from 1980s US-style deregulation and privatisation, and a move away from social democracy.

Take to the skies on the York Air Walk and enjoy an aerial stroll through the city's ancient, natural and scientific history with expert guide Simon Rogerson of York’s Hidden History.

Welcome to Mr Kendrew's printing shop on Colliergate - a true family enterprise in early 19th-century York. Step back in time and explore some of the pamphlets, primers, ballads and children's chapbooks produced there.

From Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, join historian and best-selling author Kate Williams for an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them.

From the secrets of the dead to reconstructing lost landscapes and buildings, discover how digital heritage technologies from the Heritage360 team at York are revealing new insights about the past.

York Conservation Trust's Heritage Manager Dav Smith explores the development of the Trust and outlines its ambitious ten-year plan to revitalise York’s heritage buildings in its care.

Join York Army Museum as they commemorate the 82nd anniversary of D-Day with a free living history event featuring Second World War East Yorkshire Regiment kit, vehicles and demonstrations.

Step inside the history of Heslington Hall in the 18th century, to learn about the Hesketh and Yarburgh families, their 18th-century gardens and life in 18th-century York.

Step into the world of traditional craftsmanship and discover the skills that have shaped our built heritage for centuries through demonstrations, hands-on activities and conservation talks with Pinnacle Conservation.

Historian Siân Broadhurst discusses the mid-20th century challenge of the pioneering York garden village, New Earswick, to protect and sustain community in a rapidly changing world.

Step into a vanished age as historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones brings the world’s first and most illustrious metropolis, Babylon, vividly to life.

Join Kenneth Clarke and Jane Raisch of the University of York as they examine examples of facsimiles of manuscripts of the work of Virgil and Dante and consider how the facsimile itself has changed over time.

Discover how heritage can help resolve some of the world's most urgent and complex problems with archaeologist John Schofield of the University of York.

Join Emma Major of the University of York as she discusses some key examples of 18th-century gardening trends, including the fashion for grottoes and Chinese gardens.

Explore how 18th-century domestic travel rose to rival the famous European Grand Tour with Jim Watt and Alison O’Byrne of the University of York.

Discover the 'real' story of what happened when Henry VIII and Katherine Howard visited York in 1541 with building historian and archaeologist Kate Giles.

Colin Beale of the University of York explores how protected areas safeguard our future, why every natural ‘church’ and ‘cathedral’ matters, and how we can collectively decide what to pass on to the next generation.

Gain insight into the range of crafts practiced and designed by women and girls in the 18th century at our hands-on workshop presented by the University of York’s Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies.

Join digital artist and researcher Guy Schofield of the University of York to discover how videogame technologies are revolutionising the world of heritage.

Explore how virtual tech reconstructs historic sites like Egypt’s Hawara Pyramid and Nottingham Castle. Join our talk and demo to tour hidden chambers and underground caves that are otherwise invisible to the eye.

Two great cities. One fierce rivalry. Join historian Adrian Goldsworthy to discover more about Athens and Sparta, the two big players in Ancient Greece.

From trade and taxes to industry and animals, discover the rich history and stories of York’s city walls with Barry Crump of the University of York.

Inspired by All Saints North Street windows, discover fascinating stories of what happened in bed in the Middle Ages with historian Hollie Morgan.

Discover how combining heritage crafting and outdoor natural spaces can offer a powerful way to boost our mental health and resilience.

Join historian Will Tullett as he explores the smells that 20th-century British people valued, sought to preserve and which helped them to make sense of their worlds.

Join writer Joanna Bourke for a critical, comparative history of five of the most reviled women in the modern Anglophone world: Hindley, West, Wuornos, Homolka and Tucker.

Join Michael White, Head of History of Art at the University of York, for a talk accompanying an inspiring exhibition in the Heslington Hall gallery dedicated to the artist John Langton (1932-2025).

Although she is known the world over for her words, Anne Lister, the lesbian diarist of Halifax, was also a committed musician. Join us to learn about the importance of music-making in her life.

Join Robert Nichols, editor and host of Middlesbrough FCs fanzine and internet chat forum, as he reflects on his work championing the people’s game and looks forward to this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Join writer Brigid Ehrmantraut for a captivating introduction to Celtic magic as she reveals its integration into daily life from antiquity to the Middle Ages.

Come along to the Borthwick Institute and enjoy a place to play and relax as you try out games from the archives that aren’t commercially available and haven’t been played before.

Enjoy an insightful walking tour of York, highlighting untold histories and diverse narratives. Go beyond the conventional stories of the city’s past as we explore the impact of women, people of colour and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

What do you think of when you think about the past? Enjoy a hands-on collaging workshop and reflect on the narratives we share about our history. How might we use these to build better futures?

Come along to the Borthwick Institute and enjoy a place to play and relax as you try out games from the archives that aren’t commercially available and haven’t been played before.

Why, how and where do we inter our dead? From the earliest known burial sites to today’s green burials, author Roger Luckhurst presents a wonderfully illustrated cultural history of graves and graveyards.

Join Achilles Dunster of York St John University for a walking tour and explore the effects that protestant non-conformists had on the cityscape of York.

Join writers Eleanor Bruce and Lucilla Gray on a metal detecting journey through Britain as they share their fascination with unearthing historic artefacts.

Historian Pat Cullum explores the complicated map of barriers and jurisdictions that made up the city of York, focussing on the development of the parish of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate from the Norman Conquest to the Reformation.

Join the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Senior Curator Louise Devoy as she charts the development of Britain’s first state-funded scientific institution, from its founding by royal warrant to the present day.

Take a journey across time and space and explore the history of medieval Britain through the biographies of illuminated manuscripts and their creators with author Michelle P Brown.

Taste and smell your way through the 17th century in a session that uses chocolate - and an ancient additive, vanilla - to connect York to Mesoamerican orchids, Aztec life and ladies’ salons in Restoration England.

Join us for an informal session in the ancient and medieval arithmetical gymnasium.

Discover the pleasures and surprises of Viking verse, with poetry about journeys and landscapes, halls and battlefields, and the many places of the Viking world, with Alicia Maddalena and Matt Townend of the University of York.

Enjoy improv comedy with a historical twist. Yorkshire-based improvisers Fool(ish) create an evening of spontaneous comedy inspired by curious documents and artefacts from the city archive.

Join archaeologist Colm O'Brien as he explores themes of landscape, power, creativity and intellect in Early Medieval Northumbria – the age of Lindisfarne and Bede.

For centuries Stonehenge has been the subject of fascination and speculation. Archaeologist Julian Richards explores Stonehenge's 'old rocks' and the theories that have emerged from newly available information.

Discover the 1911 scandal around horse racing tips that saw the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust branded a ‘moral cesspool’. Sue Mendus of the University of York digs into the archives to investigate.

Discover York’s rich Black history on a fascinating journey spanning nearly 2,000 years - from Roman Eboracum to the 1950s – on a guided walk with Olivia Carpenter of the University of York.

Join Simon Wilde, cricket correspondent for the Sunday Times, as he takes a compelling new look at the untold story behind one of English sport’s oldest records.

Enjoy a guided walk through the history of the streets around the church of All Saints North Street and explore this medieval landmark with its world-famous stained glass.

Historian Victoria Whitworth presents a new account of one of the most famous and mysterious manuscripts in the world, The Book of Kells.

Discover York’s rich Black history on a fascinating journey spanning nearly 2,000 years - from Roman Eboracum to the 1950s – on a guided walk with Olivia Carpenter of the University of York.

Enjoy spoken passages from the writings of Anne Lister and her contemporaries interwoven with live performances of music from her own collection at an intimate concert in the glorious setting of York Mansion House.

Step back in time on a guided walking tour of York’s rich printing history led by Thin Ice Press: the York Centre for Print.

Join York Community Energy (YCE) on a short guided walk around some of the key sites in York’s energy story, followed by a discussion about the priorities for the energy future of the city’s most important spaces.

Discover York’s evolving history of medicine and mental health, and explore how ideas of illness, treatment and control have shaped the city and the lives of its people.

Take to the skies on the York Air Walk and enjoy an aerial stroll through the city's ancient, natural and scientific history with expert guide Simon Rogerson of York’s Hidden History.