York Historic Environment Record

Three elements to this fieldwork: - A photographic survey of the site was completed by volunteer Keith Knight, a conservation architect and member of Friargate Quaker Meeting. Drawings (1:20 scale) were made of north, east and south surfaces of the garden wall to be demolished; all limestone blocks and tiles were recorded individually, areas of plaster noted and samples of bricks were measured. The wall clearly predates the meeting house wall it abuts, a short section having been rebuilt. It also line up with a butt joint in the precinct boundary wall inside the building. The wall, which contained a large number of limestone ashlars, presumed to be reused stone from the Franciscan Friary, was demolished brick by brick, stone by stone, by FCAP volunteers using hand tools. Many hours were spent removing mortar so that the bricks could be reused. - Three test pits, roughly 50cm x 50cm and 2m deep, were dug by workmen on the site to assess local soil conditions related to construction. These pits were observed by YAT. - Excavation was limited to within the footprint of the proposed building. Community excavation mainly focussed on the recovery of re-interred human remains. The coffin was discovered by FCAP volunteers; YAT conservator, Mags Felter, supervised its lifting and opening. The bones are now being studied by students under the guidance of Dr Malin Holst of the Department of Archaeology, University of York. A preliminary assessment of the human bones, identified the remains of one adult male with dental problems, and a second immature individual. Sondages were excavated to investigate the depth of the wall across the site and the foundations of the meeting house. The garden wall was found to have been built on a foundation of broken tile and sand. A beautifully constructed, steepy pitching brick drain was found towards the bottom of trench, with a disarticulated human humerus nearby. September 2013 the site was handed over to building contractors and YAT staff to carry out a watching brief while foundation piles and wall foundations were built.