In 1823, the city of York hosted a grand music festival. The main performances were in the Minster, with smaller evening concerts held in the city’s Assembly Rooms nearby. York was a centre for social activity in the early nineteenth century and the event was very popular. The Assembly Rooms were deemed too small for future concerts and a new concert hall was built to accommodate them. This was paid for by tickets to another festival the following year. Two more festivals were held in 1829 and in 1835 with profits being donated to charitable causes across Yorkshire.
This history of the first festival was written by the York musician, John Crosse and published in 1825. The book contained a history of the event as well as a general study of music festivals in England.