York Historic Environment Record

Coffin lid, later re-set in upright position. Probably early C14, with adjacent basin stone possibly C17 and with C18 inscription. Limestone. Upright stone approximately 0.4 metres by 0.5 metres and 1.0 metres high. West face has weathered effigy of a knight with a shield of arms. East face has C18 inscription, now worn and illegible. On the east side is a flat stone, with an upper face approximately 0.6 metres square with a shallow basin cut into it. Reputed to have been used for disinfecting money when the plague was in York. (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments of the City of York: RCHME: South-west of the Ouse: HMSO: 1972-: 58).
Listing NGR: SE5890050400

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

NMR information:

Summary - Hob's Stone, on the North side of Hob Moor Lane, consists of a heavy coffin-lid bearing a much weathered effigy of a knight, now set upright. On the left arm is a shield-of-arms of three water bougets, presumably for the family of Ros (probably early 14th century). The original edge of the lid remains on the right side but a recess has been cut into it, and there are three dowel-holes in front. On the back was an 18th century inscription already nearly defaced by 1818: 'This statue long Hob's name has bore, / Who was a knight in time of yore, / And gave this Common to the poor', with the names of the Pasture Masters who erected it in 1717, as well as the later date '1757'. At the back of the lid is a separate flat stone, with a shallow basin cut in it, probably used for the disinfection of money when the plague was in York; and in the surface of the lane to S. are two blocks of stone which may have formed an 18th century pedestal for Hob's Stone. No evidence has been discovered to support the view that the effigy came from St. Martin's, Micklegate, or that the name Hob commemorates an historical Robert Ros; occurrences of the place-name elsewhere imply that it contains the element hob, a goblin. The two blocks of stone in the lane had been removed, or covered with tarmacadam, by 1969.

SE 5891 5041] Hob's Stone [GT]. (1)

Hob Moor Stone, clearly a monument from some York Church, was possible erected as a plague stone in 1549/50. It is not a boundary stone. (2)

Hob's Stone, is a badly weathered limestone pillar 1.1 m high, with traces of ornamentation on its lower surfaces. There is a small stone basin on the ground alongside. Its situation and appearance both confirm its classification as a plague stone. See GPs AO.63.111.8, S/62/2,and S/62/3. (3)

HOB'S STONE (SE 58915042), on the North side of Hob Moor Lane 140 yards W. of the Tadcaster Road, 39 in. by 21 in. by 15 in., consists of a heavy coffin-lid bearing a much weathered effigy of a knight, now set upright. On the left arm is a shield-of-arms of three water bougets, presumably for the family of Ros (probably early 14th century). The original edge of the lid remains on the right side but a recess has been cut into it, and there are three dowel-holes in front. On the back was an 18th century inscription already nearly defaced by 1818 (Hargrove, W. History and Description of the Ancient City of York, Volume III. 1818. Page 513; Drake, F. Eboracum. 1736. Page 398.): 'This statue long Hob's name has bore, / Who was a knight in time of yore, / And gave this Common to the poor', with the names of the Pasture Masters who erected it in 1717, as well as the later date '1757'. At the back of the lid is a separate flat stone, 25 in. by 22 in., with a shallow basin cut in it, probably used for the disinfection of money when the plague was in York; and in the surface of the lane to S. are two blocks of stone which may have formed an 18th century pedestal for Hob's Stone. No evidence has been discovered to support the view (Davies, R. Walks Through the City of York. 1880. Page 98) that the effigy came from St. Martin's, Micklegate, or that the name Hob commemorates an historical Robert Ros; occurrences of the place-name elsewhere imply that it contains the element hob, a goblin (English Place Name Society, xiv (1937), lx, 290). The two blocks of stone in the lane had been removed, or covered with tarmacadam, by 1969. (4)

Hob's Stone at NGR SE 589 504. Grade II . Coffin lid, later re-set in upright position. Probably early C14, with adjacent basin stone possibly C17 and with C18 inscription. Limestone. Upright stone approximately 0.4 metres by 0.5 metres and 1.0 metres high. West face has weathered effigy of a knight with a shield of arms. East face has C18 inscription, now worn and illegible. On the east side is a flat stone, with an upper face approximately 0.6 metres square with a shallow basin cut into it. Reputed to have been used for disinfecting money when the plague was in York. (5)

The monument was examined in 2003 as part of English Heritage's Archaeology of Urban Commons project (Event record 1376159). There is no change in the condition of either stone. The probable plague stone is roughly squred and the 'shallow basin' is equally crudely cut. Hob Moor itself was allocated a separate NMR record (SE 55 SE 175) (6)

1 Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date) OS 6" 1958.
2 Externally held archive reference Medieval York, 1955, pp.304-5, (A Raine).
3 Field Investigators Comments F1 RL 04-JUN-63
4 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION 58 3 RCHME 1972 Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York.
5 List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest District of York 24/06/1983.
6 Field Investigators Comments English Heritage: Archaeology of Urban Commons Project

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