York Historic Environment Record

Roman levels on this site were largely unexcavated, but evidence of Roman occupation and levelling of Roman building was observed at the base of deep intrusions. A large wattle-lined pit was covered by layers which dated to the Anglo-Scandinavian period. This period was also represented by traces of a timber building in the long trench. The excavations revealed uninterrupted occupation and activity, with a major bronze working industrial complex from the 13th to the early 16th centuries, succeeded by a bakery in the post-medieval period. The original record does not allow any detailed examination of the stratigraphy which would enable the form and development of the industrial building to be studied. There appears to have been a single complex, with stone footings, with bays where different activities were carried out. Initially, in the 13th century, some of the area may have been open ground, with the building added to over a period of time. The west corner of the site accommodated a workshop; inside was a large rectangular cobble hearth set in clay, and outside an associated cobble surface. Contemporary with this was a clay floored building, with post-holes representing internal features. A large cess pit, other domestic refuse pits and timber fence were other contemporary features. The industrial use of the site was extended in the late 13th-14th century, and the first deposits of clay mould fragments were dumped in this period. There were substantial hearths and other industrial features, working floors and casting pits. Industrial buildings were demolished possibly because of structural instability. The 14th century saw substantial stone structures erected. These comprised a series of workshops in which successive floor deposits showed evidence of casting. These buildings were used for a century and then demolished to be replaced by further buildings on the same alignment. In the late 15th-early 16th century there was further substantial reconstruction but the industrial activity which was carried out in the building remained similar. Structural instability had continued to cause serious problems. In the mid 16th-mid 17th century there was no major rebuilding, but metalworking furnaces and hearths were replaced by ovens.