York Historic Environment Record

Stonegate runs N.E. from St. Helen's Square to Petergate approximately on the line of the via praetoria of the Roman fortress. Its name, meaning 'stone-paved street', is first recorded in 1118–19. The upper part of the street lay in the Liberty of St. Peter and many properties belonged to the church or housed trades dependent on ecclesiastical patronage. Goldsmiths worked here from the 15th century and there is even earlier evidence for glass-painters near the church of St. Helen; excavation under the former City Garage in Blake Street has revealed debris from this craft of the late 15th century.

Printers and bookshops are known in Stonegate from about 1500 and John Todd's library and bookshop flourished here (at No. 35 (488)) from 1762 to 1811. As the principal approach to the Minster, the street was used by processions of civic dignitaries from the Guildhall and for three of the stations of the Corpus Christi plays. Henry VII was greeted in 1486 by a pageant at the corner of Stonegate and Swinegail (Little Stonegate). Remains of a 12th-century stone house at the upper end of the street (469) and mediaeval buildings remaining, especially on the S.E. side, attest the long-standing importance of Stonegate. The sign of 'The Star' crossing the street, first erected in 1733, is a notable feature. Stonegate is much frequented by visitors to York and was consequently restricted to pedestrian use in 1974.

An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 5, Central. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1981

NMR Information

BF086953 STONEGATE, YORK File of material relating to a site or building.
OP07532 Stonegate, York looking north-east towards York Minster
OP08089 A view of houses around a cobbled courtyard in Stonegate, York with a woman standing in a doorway and two children sat on a step

RCHME, 1981, City of York Volume V: The Central Area (Monograph). SYO65.

NMR, 2019, NMR data (Digital archive). SYO2214.

York Archaeological Trust, 2022, Stonegate, Colliergate and Church Street (Unpublished document). SYO2925.