York Archaeological Trust
The Domesday survey of 1086 mentions that the King's Fishpool was in existence, the River Foss having been dammed at sometime in the previous 20 years. The damming resulted in the flooding of, the Carmelite Street site, and presumably made the land to the north vulnerable.
From 1295 the Carmelite Friars gained increasing influence over the area between Fossgate and Hungate. The Carmelites were originally established near the Horsefair (off Gillygate) in about 1250, but in 1295 William de Vescy gave to the Carmelites a house (messuage) in Stonebow Lane (now lost under the present Stonebow). The house came with land (pertinentiis) which "extends from the aforesaid street towards the water of the Foss to the south, and from the street called the Mersk towards Fossgate to the west..."
By 1300 the friary church was under construction and during the rest of the century the area owned by the Carmelites continued to expand. By 1400 the probable boundary of the friary ran from Hungate in the east to Fossgate, and from the Foss to Stonebow Lane. The exact line of the boundary has been lost. It is likely that there was a wall around the precinct and in 1378 John de Housom, who was a potter, was prosecuted for "breaking into the Prior's close ... and digging in his soil, taking earth to the value of 10 marks".
Little is known about the layout of the buildings of the friary. The church had a cemetery around it and both were in St Saviour's parish, at the northern end of the friary precinct. In 1300 Edward I gave the friars eight oaks for the construction of the church and the cemetery was consecrated in 1304. The friary gateway was in Fossgate, near the junction with Pavement. In 1385 the "plastrer" John de Driffield, was prosecuted for 20 marks for "building an oven ... so badly that it utterly collapsed".
On the 3 October 1314 the Carmelites were given permission by Edward II to "construct a quay in their own soil within their dwelling place (mansum) upon the bank of the ... Foss ... and further that they may have one boat ... to carry to their said dwelling place stone, brushwood and other necessaries of theirs".
The friary was of national importance, as it was the head of one of the four distinctions into which the Carmelite province of England was divided. Several of the provincial priors of England were connected with York, and at least two were buried at the friary. Not surprisingly, there were many bequests to the friary; the eminent Percy family of Northumberland were among its many benefactors, and they were considered to be the second founders of the friary.
During the medieval period, the Hungate area was also used for rubbish dumping; this may have had the effect of reclaiming land from the Fishpool. In 1409 the parishoners of St John the Baptist Church, Hungate, reported that the area was a "horrible refuse shoot" for the butchers of the Shambles who deposited unsold and rotten meat there. The "innerds" and offals meant that dogs and birds flocked to the area and the animals stirred up such a vile smell that the priest of St John the Baptist only managed to get through the service with difficulty. This practice continued into the 16th century. In 1524 Hungate was appointed as an official dumping ground and in 1573 it was ordered that whosoever should lay any dung in Hungate against the wall of the Carmelites should pay 12d for every load. By the end of the 16th century, attempts were being made to clean up Hungate, but complaints about the rubbish continued throughout the 17th century; St John's parishioners said that dogs had deposited bones around their churchyard.
In 1538 the friary was surrendered to the King, and the site was held by John Thorpe for two years and then leased to Ralph Beckwith for 21 years. The site remained in the hands of the Beckwith family until 1614. In a document dated 1586/7 the site is mentioned with its buildings, houses, orchards, stables, dovecotes, fishponds etc. but this is probably a generalised description and its specific accuracy is doubtful. John Speed's map of 1610 shows no buildings on the site, and on James Archer's map of 1685 it is depicted as gardens, running from Stonebow Lane to the Foss. In 1736 Drake states that the site is "now a garden" which once belonged to Alderman Hutton, and is now owned by Mr John Tomlinson. Drake also mentions, without giving a location, that he "saw some of the foundation stones of this ancient building dug up a few years ago".
The gardens probably remained until Carmelite Street was built between 1830 and 1838 as part of the general development of the Hungate area. The 1852 Ordnance Survey map shows the site as heavily built up, presumably with small terraced houses. A series of trades were given for Carmelite Street properties in the 1876 trade directory: a brushmaker, shop-keeper, bird dealer and fish dealer. In 1896 various labourers lived in Hiram Place, which was a small street running off Carmelite Street towards the Foss.
In 1881-2 the trade directory entry for Hungate included: "Leetham, Henry, miller and corn merchant". The mill faced onto Hungate but expanded backwards along Carmelite Street. By 1885 the entry for Leetham's mill reads: "Hungate roller flour mills" and, in 1900, is expanded to: "AngloHungarian Roller Mills ... branch offices ... Cardiff, Hull, Newcastle upon Tyne, Leeds". The mills came to dominate the site, as is clearly shown on the 1927 O.S. map.
During the 1930s the Hungate area was cleared of slums and the 1936 O.S. shows it clear. One building used by the flour mill complex remained on the site, and by 1936 another building had been added. What appears to be a pathway running from Carmelite Street towards the Foss seems to have been closed off, although the yard area on the corner of Carmelite Street and Garden Place remained.
Since the Second World War Carmelite Street has not featured in any of the Trade Directories (1949-1975), and the O.S. maps for 1961 and 1970 show a warehouse and large yard on the site. The warehouse was used by the stationers Thomes Dick and Co., by the printers Woodcock and Pearson, and also as an auction room.
Sources:
Baildon, W P (ed) Monastic Notes Vol 1 YAS Vol XVII (Leeds 1985)
Brookes, F W "York - 1066 to the Present Day" The Noble City of
York Stacpoole, A (ed) (York 1972)
Calendar of the Patent Rolls Edward II Vol 11 1313-1317 (London 1898)
Drake, Francis The and Antiquities of the Cits,' of YorA
(London 1736)
Knight, C B A History of the City of YorA (York 1944)
Raine, A Mediaeval York A Topographical Survey (London 1955)
Tillot, P M (ed) A Victoria History of Yorkshire, The City of
York (Oxford 19611)
Trade directories