Plate 1. 1852 Ordnance Survey extract
Plate 2. Engraving of Gas Works
Field Archaeology Specialists
This document reports on an archaeological evaluation undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists Ltd at Palmer Lane, Hungate, York, on behalf of Mike Griffiths and Associates, for Crosby Homes. The fieldwork was carried out between the 30th April and 7th May 2002.
The site (NGR SE 6093 5184) lies to the southeast of the junction of Hungate and Palmer Lane. It is bound to the north by Palmer Lane, to the west by a private access road and to the east by a car park and office buildings (Fig.1 JPEG/DWF). The perimeter of the area of investigation is bound by a wire mesh fence and it comprises a car park surfaced with tarmac, which serves Barnitts' warehouse to the south.
The evaluation was designed to characterise and establish the archaeological potential of deposits within the area of investigation. It was understood that the presence of the former gasworks on the site may have led to a degree of contamination of the underlying strata although an initial map regression suggested that this area of the former gasworks had little potential for serious contamination.
The specific position of the evaluation trench was determined by questions raised by cartographic evidence from the 1850s. An auction map of the former gasworks dated 1850 shows a range of buildings occupying the northwestern corner of the gasworks. The footprint of the buildings does not reflect the geometry of the plan of the gasworks elsewhere, and it was thought to predate the construction of the gasworks. A tentative link to the Cordwainer's Hall, known to have been in the immediate vicinity, was made to the arrangement of these buildings. This was also suggested by buttresses on the buildings shown on the map. Such architectural features are not typical of nineteenth century building patterns but rather medieval ones. Furthermore, recent excavations to the north of Palmer Lane contacted a late medieval building tentatively identified as the Cordwainer's Hall. This structure was thought to have extended into the area of investigation prior to the imposition of the more recent route of Palmer Lane.
The wider Hungate area is significant in terms of a rich archaeological and historical sequence. The sequence begins with some prehistoric activity in the area to the east, but the evidence is fragmentary (YAT 2000, 5). Subsequently, the Hungate area is later known to have been within the Roman 'canabae', the extra-mural settlement which developed after the establishment of the fortress, and was home to many craftsmen and traders (Ottoway 1993, 67).
Much of the early medieval archaeological evidence found within York has come from riverside locations, and it is expected that the Hungate area may reveal further material from this period. Excavations during the 1950s on the site of the Telephone Exchange building revealed an episode of land reclamation for settlement alongside the Foss in the 'Anglo-Danish' period (Richardson 1959 date????). Anglian material recovered from Hungate in 1999 included cobbled surfaces, and Anglo-Scandinavian activity has been located at Dundas Street, Carmelite Street, and to the north of Stonebow, and has included evidence for timber buildings and domestic occupation (YAT 2000, 92). To the east, on the Adams Hydraulics site, finds of clench bolts have been interpreted as evidence of boat building (YAT 1990, 5), and at Layerthorpe Bridge, evidence for both a pre-Conquest mill leat, as well as further riverside structures, was found (MAP 1998).
During the medieval period, the area was greatly affected by the damming of the Foss in the 1060s, which was intended to provide a moat for the castle, and at the same time the King's Fishpool was created. Carmelite Street is known to have been partly under water and presumably the gasworks site would have been affected, being so close to the river. One of the three landing points around the King's Fishpool is known to have been in the Hungate area, at the Carmelite Friary.
From the late thirteenth century, the Carmelite Friars became dominant landowners in the area, with the establishment of the Friary on Stonebow Lane in 1295. Activity in the Hungate area is relatively well-documented throughout the following centuries, although little is known of the precise layout of the house. The friary was dissolved in 1538, and the site seems to have been given over to gardens associated with various properties in the area.
The Hungate area is known to have been used as a rubbish dump well into the eighteenth century, and records describe the deposition of offal and cuts of meat by the butchers from the Shambles, in addition to a manure midden. The 'Hungate Midden' is still mentioned in deeds of 1770 (YCA B43/461). Conditions in the area attracted vermin and stray dogs, probably a factor in the founding of the City Dog Kennel in Hungate in 1754 (YCA B43/461).
From the 1820s, considerable development occurred in the area with the construction of a network of streets built up with terraced housing. The Stonebow had yet to be constructed (built in 1955), so that the nineteenth century street layout differed somewhat to that shown on modern maps. Leetham's Flour Mill, located to the west of the site, dominated the area with its towering silos. Overcrowding became a problem during the nineteenth century, and poverty was rife (Smith 1908). Throughout the 1930s, a programme of large-scale slum clearance occurred throughout York, and Hungate was one of the targeted areas. Compulsory purchase of most of the terraced properties occurred in 1936 (YCA Acc 191/PH600/10842). A majority of buildings in the area were demolished between 1931 and 1937, and the area was rebuilt with the warehouses and works which survive today.
Although the general area is relatively well-documented from the medieval period onwards, there is little evidence for activity on this site prior to the establishment of the gasworks in 1836. However, a structure to the northwest of the gasworks site has been tentatively associated with the Guild of Cordwainers, which is known to have been located in the area.
The main building known to have been located in the immediate vicinity is the Cordwainer's Hall although Speed's 1610 map of York shows little activity on the banks of the Foss at that date. Hungate is depicted, and a lane leading off to the east appears to correspond with Palmer Lane. To the southeast of this junction, a large building (or two buildings) is depicted. This would have been located within the site, but no label is provided to identify it. However, Horsley's map of 1694 shows the hall to be to the north of the site, along Palmer Lane, and depicts the area as ornate gardens. The Hall is marked in a similar position on the 1852 OS map, immediately to the north of the junction of Hungate and Palmer Lane. This suggests that there were, in fact, two Cordwainer's Halls, the second hall replacing an earlier, medieval hall to the south of Palmer Lane.
Little information has been recovered concerning the Cordwainer's Hall, although the Guild itself appears to have been well-documented. Knight (1951) states that the later Shoemaker's Hall stood on the corner of Palmer Lane, and the 'Ancient Guild of Cordwainers' continued in existence until 1808. The decline of the Guild meant that their hall passed into other hands, and the building north of Palmer Lane was taken down around 1935. According to Knight, it was a plain brick building 'most probably of eighteenth century construction and ... [with] no architectural pretensions whatever', part of the premises having 'long been converted into cottages and the remainder into a workshop' (Knight 1951, 102). Given that documentary evidence survives for the presence of a Cordwainer's Hall which predates this eighteenth century structure, it is possible that below-ground remains exist for this earlier hall.
The off-set alignment, and apparent truncation, of a large building at the northwest corner site on the 1852 OS map suggests that the road layout changed between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, and that the building predates this alteration. A more detailed plan of the building is depicted on the auction plan of the gasworks, showing a buttressed building with parlour, kitchen, office, and a yard (National Gas Archives) . The 1889 OS map suggests that although the outer plan of the building may have been preserved within later developments, the building had been divided into three properties. The same situation is shown on the 1909 and 1931 editions. This building was subject to a compulsory purchase order in 1936 and had been cleared away by 1937. Whether this building contained within it any survival of the Cordwainer's Hall is not clear, but it is possible that below-ground remains may exist in the immediate vicinity. A recent site investigation carried out by the York Archaeological Trust, however, identified structural remains to the north of Palmer Lane which may be associated with this building.
On the 17th May 1836 a meeting was held at the Merchant's Hall, which resulted in the creation of the York Union Gas Company, established in competition with the York Gas Light Company (est. 1822), whose works were situated in Monkgate. In the following week the directors of the company were elected, and in addition to the chairman, Robert Cattle, and deputy chairman Charles S. Elsley, the board included such notable figures as George Hudson and Thomas Pickersgill (York Gas Company 1924, 14).
In July 1836, the company purchased land on Hungate from Thomas Arthur, who had bought the land from Reverend Richard Lucas only two months previously. The bounds of the land are described in the contract of sale of 16th July 1836 (National Gas Archives):
'All that piece or parcel of ground situated in or near the street of Hungate in the Parish of St Saviour in the said City of York, bounded on or towards the North by a street or lane called Palmer Lane, on or towards the west by a land or road called Foss Lane on or towards the south by the River Foss and on the east by premises belonging to Mr Smith Mr Matthew Arthur and others.
(National Gas Archives)
The 1852 OS map (Plate 1) does not label a 'Foss Lane', although it seems likely that the road extending south from Hungate towards the river is the street being described. The various premises listed on the eastern boundary seem to correspond with terraced housing on the western side of Dundas Street.
The first annual report of the Gas Company, presumably in 1837, describes the choice of the site, and the benefits that it provided:
'After inspecting various places, the Directors purchased a large Orchard adjoining the river Foss at the bottom of Hungate, which appears to them the most desirable situation for Gas Works in the whole of the City, not only on account of its contiguity to a navigable river which affords great facilities for landing and warehousing Coals and other Goods, but also for its central position in the City, thereby decreasing the length of the larger mains. In addition to this, the lowness of its situation which is peculiarly desirable for Gas Works, rendered the site above still more eligible. In this opinion, the Directors have been fully corroborated by their talented engineer Mr Hutchinson, of the Vauxhall Gas Works, whose able assistance they were fortunate enough to obtain on fair and moderate terms.
(York Union Gas Light Company Director's Minute Book 1836-1843)
Following purchase of the land in 1836, construction of the gasworks proceeded at a rapid pace. Contracts survive for the construction of a water wall (6th August 1836), and for the employment of masons (10th August 1836), plumbers (17th August 1836), and bricklayers (13th August 1836) (National Gas Archives). The first Annual Report describes the building of the Retort House, Coal and Coke sheds and interior works as being in progress. Two brick tanks had been erected and the foundations of the gasometer were already established. The condensers and purifiers were also likewise being dispatched.
A deed dated the 11th August 1837 details the contract for the construction of one gasometer, to be supplied by Thomas Mees of Staffordshire, 'Gasometer and Gas Tube manufacturer,' at a cost of 270. The contract provides detailed instructions concerning the construction of the gasometer, which was to be:
'...forty four feet ten inches in diameter and eighteen feet deep, the top to rise eighteen inches and to be supported by three 4 inch bars and fifteen 3 inch bars, three rows of Bracket (?) Bars 2 1/4 inches by 1/4 inch - thick well secured together with sufficient screw bolts - with centre pipe and three diagonal rods 1 inch diameter. The Sheet Iron in the top to be No. 14 and the side of No. 15. Wire Gauge with Chains, Pulley Wheels and Carriages and one bottom Balance Weight and Pin - The whole properly erected and the Gasometer properly painted with good and sufficient paint and in working order to the entire satisfaction of the engineer on the first day of October...'
(National Gas Archive)
The OS map shows two gasometers on the site, with a large central structure, shown on later plans to be the Retort House. An engraving presents the view of the Gas Works from the river, showing the central Retort House, with its chimneys and gasometers, and structures built up along the eastern and western boundaries of the site (Plate 2).
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Plate 1. 1852 Ordnance Survey extract |
Plate 2. Engraving of Gas Works |
Competition between the York Union Gas Works Company and the York Gas Light Company was fierce and the Annual Report suggests that relations between the two companies were not good. 'The Proprietors are no doubt aware that the Directors have had many difficulties to contend with, and considerable obstructions have been thrown their way by the Old Gas Company, and altho' the most unfair attempts were made to stop the works in their progress, and to prevail that honourable competition at which the Company aims, yet every such attempt has been most equally defeated' (York Union Gas Light Company Director's Minute Book 1836-1843).
This competition, accompanied by the rising demand for gas, led to a meeting on the 19th July 1844, when it was decided to amalgamate the companies to form the York Gas Company (York Gas Company 1924, 16). Works continued on both the Hungate and the Monkgate works until expansion of the latter meant that all the work could be transferred to the Monkgate premises. The Hungate works were closed on the 26th January 1850, and the plant dismantled. The Retort House chimney remained standing and in use until at least the 1920s, forming part of Bellerby's Saw Mill. The chimney is depicted on plans of 1851 (YCL) and may be visible behind mill buildings on Nathaniel Whittock's 'Bird's Eye View of York'.
The initial intention of the Directors was to sell the property off in nine plots described in a document of 26th April 1850 (National Gas Archive) and depicted on a plan of the same date. Three proposed streets are shown crossing the site. This plan was never carried out, and it was resolved later the same year to sell the whole of the property to William Bellerby, who used the premises for his saw mill.
On 22nd May 1850, William Bellerby bought the property from the York Union Gas Works. Extant plans of the saw mill date to 1851 (York Central Library). One of the proposed streets was constructed running from Hungate (part way across the site), with a yard at the end. This later became Sawmill Lane. To the north, a number of buildings, presumably houses, were constructed, and a small plot to the south of the lane became the property of neighbouring Leetham's Mills. The mill buildings are seen to dominate the site on the 1889 map, with a timber yard fronting onto the Foss.
By 1909, the timber yard is shown to have been built up, and the same ground plan continued relatively unaltered until 1931.
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Plate 3. 1930s Ordnance Survey map extract |
Between 1931 and 1937, there was a general period of clearance, when many of the slum terraces in the Hungate area were demolished. OS maps from the 1930s (Plate 3) show that much of the site of Bellerby's Saw Mill had also been cleared. A long range of buildings along the western edge of the property remained standing, as did a building fronting onto Palmer Lane and the property belonging to Leetham's Mills. The lower part of Hungate, below the junction with Palmer Lane, is no longer shown.
By 1963, further clearance had occurred. All but the long range of buildings along the western edge of the former gasworks had been demolished and new 'works' had been constructed.
