York Historic Environment Record

Between May and June 2023, York Archaeology carried out a Strip, Map and Sample (SMS) excavation within the Great North Hall café courtyard of the National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, York. This excavation involved a single northwest - southeast aligned trench 16.40m x 8.40m in size, in which structural remains and deposits relating to the Victorian railway expansion were uncovered, cleaned and recorded. This was followed by two days of public engagement site tours on the 26th and 27th of May 2023. In all, the results of this excavation support the historical documentation of the area, with the structural remains uncovered on site offering convincing evidence of the 1880s Oil Gas Station/works. No archaeological evidence predating the Victorian structures was identified during the excavation.