Old records mostly wrote about men: kings, lords and priests. That doesn't mean women weren't here! These are women connected to York that we know about. Can you find out about more?
CH
Catherine Howard
Visited York
Henry VIII's queen. She visited York with Henry on their royal tour, arriving on 15 September 1541.
AD
Anne of Denmark
Visited York
She came to York with her children, Prince Henry and Princess Elizabeth, on 11 June 1603.
JD
Dame Judi Dench
Acted here
She acted in the York Mystery Plays as a schoolgirl in 1951, 1954 and 1957, and is still a patron of the plays. She was given the Freedom of the City in 2002.
MW
Dame Margaret Weston
Her museum came to York
The National Railway Museum was set up as a branch of the National Museum of Science and Industry, then led by Dame Margaret Weston. It was the first English national museum outside London.
E
Queen Elizabeth II
Her statue is on the Minster
On 9 November 2022, King Charles III unveiled a statue of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a niche on the west front of York Minster.
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The Minster's windows were taken out in 1916 for fear of bombing. In 1925, the 'Five Sisters' window was restored with £3,500 raised by Almyra Gray and Helen Little.
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York's women's rugby league team, York Valkyrie, plays in the Super League.