York Historic Environment Record

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken in 2002 to the rear of the existing standing listed buildings which front Walmgate, in advance of redevelopment, in order to ascertain the potential impact on underlying archaeological deposits and features. Two evaluation trenches were excavated to a maximum depth of 1.5m below the existing ground level. The earliest archaeological deposits encountered within both of the trenches consisted mid to late 17th century dumps, presumably deposited to reclaim land from the medieval River Foss. One of the trenches also contained a sequence of brick built structures, the earliest of which appears to be part of a late 17th century building. Later structures, of probable 19th century date included two drains, cutting this earlier building, and a substantial wall, over 1.40m deep. This wall appears to have been a long lived property boundary, and may have also formed the side wall for a set of steps, giving access to the River Foss.