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About us

The York City Levy is a group of experienced living history enthusiasts who portray the men, women and children of the second half of the 15th century, the period known today as the Wars of the Roses. Over the past 20 years the York City Levy has worked for a wide range of heritage organisations including English Heritage, Northumberland County Council and York Archaeological Society. We specialise in providing high quality displays based around both the everyday life and celebrations of ‘ordinary people’ – for example artisans, craftsmen, minor members of the clergy, soldiers and their families. By concentrating on family life in late medieval society we feel visitors are better able to relate to events over 500 years ago.

What we do

As a living history society we aim to portray the men and women of York and the surrounding hundred known as The Ainsty. These would have been lower status and merchant class people who would be commissioned by law to fight for the City of York in times of need. Men are clothed in the City of York's colours; red and white and wear the badge of the Lybard (lybard being the ancient word for a 'leopard').

We take part in a wide range of activities, many of which encourage visitor participation. To ensure visitors have the chance to experience a wide mix of talks, plays and other events we usually work to a timetable highlighting when and where they will take place.

We tailor our activities to suit each venue, the nature of the event and the time of year. Over the previous years we have celebrated the York Mystery Plays, St George’s Day at Scarborough Castle and May Day in Helmsley Castle. We have brought in the harvest at Cawood Castle Garth and raised the Levy in Barley Hall, York, to fight at the Battle of Towton. Our camp of replica tents and furnishings provide the backdrop to the following activities:

• Music and dance: we provide both demonstrations of period music and dances and encourage audience participation.
• Mummers’ plays: we have a repertoire of these traditional folk plays which include such colourful characters as St George, the dragon and Bold Slasher. Our performers operate without artificial amplification and have a persuasive way of ensuring that the audience gets involved.
• Military activities: while we are not a battle re-enactment group, we include an indication of the compulsory military service which was a part of life in this period. Our display shows the raising of the Levy from the townsmen and their training in the use of a range of weapons, including the bill and longbow. For the younger visitor we have a selection of wooden weapons to allow them to join in (under the watchful eye of the other members of the Levy).
• Craft and industry: our members are proficient in a wide range of crafts such as spinning, basket weaving, rope making, candle making, woodcarving and goldsmithing. Visitors are able to try several of these. The craft activities are normally carried out as a background activity during the day.
• Medicine: we have both a barber surgeon and a midwife, who give entertaining and informative talks suitable for the whole family.
• Games: we have a range of period games for visitors to try out, including slapcock and skittles, with explanations and demonstrations of each game as required. Our younger members have a selection of period toys, which they are happy to share.
• Cookery: we demonstrate the preparation and cooking of a wide variety of meals over an open fire. The menu can be varied to reflect the location or time of year. The fire is contained in a metal tray suspended above the ground to prevent damage. For health and safety reasons, we are unable to prepare food for public consumption.
• Religion: to demonstrate the part played by religion in peoples’ lives, our members can portray pilgrims and minor members of the clergy.
• Talks: our members can provide detailed talks about a wide variety of aspects of medieval life either informally or as a scheduled presentation.

Location

We are based in the north of England but have members from all over the country and from many different professional backgrounds. During the summer months we travel to castles, period houses and well-known battlefields across the country and put on authentic displays for the public’s entertainment and education.

Places we have visited during the last 5 years include the castles at Scarborough, Helmsley, Kenilworth, Aydon and Pontefract; Newcastle Keep; Rievaulx and Whitby Abbeys; and the Festival of History at Kelmarsh.

Would you like to join us for a 'taster event'?