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North East prospect of St Saviours church. Edward Abbot. 1776 |
St Saviours, St Saviourgate. Henry Brown. 1836 |
St Saviour. Francis Bedford. c.1843 |
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North East prospect of St Saviours church. Edward Abbot. 1776 |
St Saviours, St Saviourgate. Henry Brown. 1836 |
St Saviour. Francis Bedford. c.1843 |
The church was described in early documents as ecclesia Sancti Salvatoris in Marisco, being built on the edge of the marsh near the Foss; the shoreline may be marked by the considerable terrace on the south side of the graveyard. The discovery of burials some 14ft beneath the floor during underpinning in 1840, together with a document of 1088-93 in which William II confirms his father's gift of the church to St Mary's Abbey, suggests a pre-Conquest foundation.
In the later medieval period the parish was wealthy, rated above average in the assessment of 1428, and St Saviourgate was lined with the houses of rich merchant families, those on the south backed by gardens held by a retaining wall and enjoying a pleasant prospect towards the King's Fishpool and the Foss. The church benefited from this affluence: seven chantries were founded there and the church was completely rebuilt in the 15th century, in the usual York form, with structurally undivided aisled nave and chancel and west tower partly within the church. In addition to the altars, there are references to a rood and rood-loft and an image of Our Lady of Pity. The latter was possibly a wall painting, as Gent wrote in 1730 that 'in this Church are painted over the Pillars, in full proportion, the effigies of Moses, Aaron, St Peter, St Paul and the Four Evangelists' (Gent 1730, 186); these are presumably the frescoes reported as found by the architect during the repairs of 1840 (Raine 1955, 77). If the frescoes were medieval, as reported in 1840, their survival into the 18th century is of interest. Even more interesting is the question of their fate after their rediscovery in 1840. Two guilds, or fraternities, are mentioned, a Guild of Martin incorporated in 1446 and a Guild of St Anne.
Like other churches, St Saviour's lost its lead roof some time before 1551 when the replacement was found to be faulty, partly through insufficient tiling and partly because a larger window had been inserted, 'whiche surchargyd that side of the said Churche and brakk parte of the sparres' (YCR 5, 85). In 1583 two bells were exchanged for three, including the 'great bell', from St William's Chapel. It is not known when the tower acquired the large wooden cross deemed worthy of note by Drake, Cent and Hargrove (Drake 1736, 310, Gent 1730,186, Hargrove 1818, 2, 330). It is shown in Abbot's wash drawing of 1776, and appears again in views by 'RB', Brown and Bedford, though by 1831 it was probably a replacement, as part of the steeple had been blown down in 1822. The tower is also shown as having a saddleback roof at least until C.1843, and between 1831 and 1836 dormer windows were inserted in the roof. The north and south aisles were almost entirely rebuilt in 1844-5 by R.H. Sharp in Perpendicular style. In 1878 the vestry at the east end was replaced by one at the south.
In 1954 the parish was united with All Saints Pavement and the church was closed. Glass from the cast window was removed to All Saints, furnishings to All Saints and Holy Trinity Micklegate. In 1986 the Victorian floor was removed (YAT site code 1986.1) and 57 stones were uncovered and recorded, including two altar slabs and inscribed grave covers, some with indents of removed brasses. Medieval timbers were also discovered re-used in the Victorian roofs (Interim 11/4,20-5). In 1990 the church re-opened as the Archaeological Resource Centre of the York Archaeological Trust.
A document, dated 1362 but probably of the late 15th century, set out the ancient bounds of the parish. It is now lost but was copied by R.H. Skaife and is quoted by Raine and Knight (Raine 1955,79; Knight 1944, 235-6; see also Drake 1736, 312 and Hargrove 1818, 2,331-2).
