York Historic Environment Record

Arcade of the Palace of Archbishop Roger de Pont l'Eveque; now War Memorial to the Second Division. Attached walls, railings, gates and gate piers extending approx 35m to the south-west, 20m to the north-east and forming the boundary on the north-west side of Dean's Park. Arcade late C12; restored in 1987; walls, railings, gates and gate piers 1839, repositioned 1863. Arcade of magnesian limestone; railings, gates and gate piers of cast-iron, limestone walls. Arcade of 7 round arches of 3 orders, inner two of coupled shafts with moulded bases and carved capitals, now defaced. Each arch contained two trefoil-headed lights with centre shaft, now lost. Two shafts with elaborately carved capitals have been replaced. Each arch now closed by low plinth carrying a commemorative plate and surmounted by iron railings. Centre arch filled with laurel wreath cast in bronze. Boundary walls vary from approx 0.25 to 0.75m high and carry square section railings with tapering tips and turned standards with urn finials. Gates adjacent to the Minster Library (qv) and the Purey-Cust Chambers (qv) are of similar railings strengthened by arch or diagonal braces; piers are tapered cylinders on high pedestals with urn finials. (The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Yorkshire: York and the East Riding: Harmondsworth: 1972-: 109).
Listing NGR: SE6026052289

Derived from English Heritage LB download dated: 22/08/2005

All that now remains of archbishop Roger's time is part of a twelfth-century arcade of seven round-headed arches (at least nine originally) that are subdivided into two trefoil-headed sub arches. Often described as a cloister arcade they are in fact a row of paired windows
originally fitted with wooden shutters. They may actually be part of the south aisle wall of the great hall. They survived because they formed part of the south wall of the tennis court and later riding school. No excavation has ever been recorded to determine the
medieval ground level against either side of the arcade but the suspicion is that it lies around a metre below the present level (Ryedale 2022).

Ryedale Archaeology Services Ltd, 2022, The Old Palace York Minster (Unpublished document). SYO3114.