York Historic Environment Record

A hoard of Late Saxon ornamental metalwork, comprising two matching sets of four strapends each and four fragments of an openwork silver disc, was discovered in the parish of Upper Poppleton, on the outskirts of York. Particular emphasis is laid on the date, function, manufacture and localisation of the strap-ends, which rank amongst the most accomplished examples yet discovered of this ubiquitous class of Late Saxon ornamental metalwork. On the basis of close stylistic links drawn to other artistic media from the north of the Humber, it is argued that these strap-ends occupy a focal point in the definition of a 9th-century Northumbrian metalworking tradition embodying a regional version of the Trewhiddle style.