On-Site Archaeology
The site is situated to the rear of numbers 13 - 14, Fossgate. The National Grid reference for the site is SE 60571 51804 (see Figure 1 for location).
The existing buildings on the Fossgate frontage are 17th century with later alterations. The rear boundary of the site is delineated by a wall, the four lowest courses of which are visible above ground level. These comprise masonry blocks with tile and brick inserts and levellers. This has been interpreted as being the remains of the precinct wall of the Carmelite friary.
The site lies to the south-east of the Roman legionary fortress, covering what has been assumed to be the canabae associated with the fortress, situated between the fortress and the River Foss. The Roman road leading from the fortress to the south-east would have crossed the Foss in this vicinity. The Ordnance Survey map of Roman York suggests a site of the crossing to be to the north-east of Fossgate, but the fording point may have been closer to the line of Fossgate.
There is little evidence for any post Roman, pre-Anglo-Scandinavian occupation in the surrounding area. Excavations carried out in the basement of Lloyds Bank, Pavement have provided the only clue to the usage of this area during Anglo-Scandinavian periods. These trenches revealed deeply stratified deposits and it is therefore not unlikely that the Fossgate site may present a similar depth of significant archaeological deposits.
The Carmelites were originally established in York around 1250 in the Bootham area. By 1300 the Friary church was under construction. A document dated 5 February 1299/1300 recorded the boundary of the friary site as starting at St. Saviours Church cemetery and running west for 316 feet along "Staynbouwe Lane". The distance of 316 feet corresponds with the existing wall of Black Horse Passage. The southern limits were marked by the houses of "Thomas a Fulford". It is difficult to plot the exact boundary of the site as many of the medieval features mentioned are no longer in existence. The friary seems to have been of national importance, with two of the provincial priors of England being buried within its confines.
Little is known about the friary or its buildings but it is thought that the main gateway was on Fossgate, near to the junction with Pavement. In the 15th century the area around Hungate was recorded as being a site used for the dumping of waste, a practice which continued into the 16th century.
The dissolution of the friary took place in 1538 after it was surrendered to the King.
There have been a limited number of previous excavations in the area. The nearest excavations were undertaken between 1949 and 1952 on the site of the telephone exchange at Hungate. A sequence of significant archaeological value was uncovered, including a probable Roman riverside structure, a medieval causeway, three barrel lined wells and other possible riverside constructions.
More recently, an evaluation completed by the York Archaeological Trust in 1991 on Carmelite Street also uncovered an important archaeological sequence. The boreholes undertaken during these excavations showed natural to be at a depth of 5.0m AOD. Overlying natural was a thick layer of alluvium, dateable by its medieval pottery. The trial trenches showed substantial evidence of later medieval activity. Timber revetments with associated late 13th century pottery were uncovered, which may have been associated with the reclamation of land for the building of part of the friary.
Other trenches produced demolition dumps of a later date containing rubble thought to have been debris from the 16th century demolition of the Carmelite friary during the dissolution.