York Historic Environment Record

Tenement 27

Site Ownership and Occupation
There are no title deeds which can be assigned with certainty to this property. Deeds describing Tenements 26 and 28 indicate that there was a tenement between them. In
c. 1228 Tenement 27 was described as the land of 'le Kaudruner' and in October 1264 as the land of John le Kaudruner (1, 2). In August 1307 it was the land of Thomas de Flaxton, and in the mid 14th century it was described as the land formerly of Thomas de Flaxton, girdler, and in June 1378 as the tenement of Robert de Gare (3, 4, 5). In 1381 Robert del Gare, mercer, and his wife, Emma, resident in the parish of St Michael le Belfrey, were assessed at a contribution of 9s. 8d. to the poll tax, and their servant, Thomas, at 4d. (6).

This may suggest that Tenement 27 belonged to the vicars choral together with Tenement 28 (see below p. 00), for these names of tenants match those of a property in Petergate owned by the vicars choral and not otherwise identified. By 1309 the college drew a free rent of 10s. a year from houses of 'le caldroner'. In 1312 the tenant of this property was Thomas de Flaxton, in 1321 John de Hathelsay, in 1328 29 John de Lang(ton), and in 1342 Robert de Hill (alias yle). By 1366 Robert del Gare was named as the tenant. Thereafter the names of the tenants of free rents tended to become fossilized. Robert del Gare was still named as the tenant in 1399, although by 1474 79 the tenant was John Helmesley (7).

References
1 Abutment from Tenement 26; 'Vicars Choral Cartulary' no
182
2 Abutment from Tenement 26; Fountains Abbey Cartulary, 273
3 Abutment from Tenement 28; YML, VC 3/Vo 47
4 Abutment from Tenement 26; YML, M2/2a, fos 28, 29v
5 Abutment from Tenement 26; PRO, C.143/393/20
6 Bartlett, 19 , 47
7 YML, VC 4/1/1 et seq., VC 6/2/38, 64 66D

Tenement 28

Site Ownership and Occupation
The vicars choral had acquired Tenement 28 by 1276 (1), possibly from Simon de Sutton, prebendary of South Newbald and archdeacon of Northampton between 1280 and 1290, whose obit was supported from the tenement. On 16 August 1307 Simon de Botlesford, warden of the vicars choral granted to William de Spofford, vicar, the right to an annual rent of 1 mark from the endowment of Stephen de Sutton's obit which would support William's own obit after his death. William had purchased this concession with a sum of money. The rent came from a tenement which lay between the land of Gillian de Craven (Tenement 29) and the land of Thomas Flaxton (Tenement 27), and was paid to the warden of the vicars. If the houses were lost through a plea or destroyed by fire, the vicars would pay the annual rent to their warden from their common fund (2).

Throughout the period 1334 1369 Tenement 28 continued to be described as the land of the vicars choral (3, 4). However in 1334 property here adjacent to Tenement 29 was described as the land of the vicars choral held by Nicholas de Scorby and the land of John Hathelsay (3). Scorby and Hathelsay also had tenancies of Tenements 24 and 25 (see above pp.00).

References
1 Abutments from Tenement 29; YML, L2/1 pt iv, fos 43v 44;
L2/2a, fo 21r v. BL, Cotton MS Nero D iii, fo 180
2 YML, VC 3/Vo 47
3 Abutment from Tenement 29; YML, VC 3/Vi 427
4 Abutments from Tenement 29; BL, Cotton MS Nero D iii, fos
134v, 136; YCA, G.41:2

Sarah Rees Jones, 1987, Property, tenure and rents: some aspects of the topography and economy of medieval York (Unpublished document). SYO1072.