York Historic Environment Record

A trench measuring 5 x 2 metres was manually excavated to "natural" strata, each context encountered being recorded as a separate entity. The earliest archaeologically attested human intervention at the site would appear to be the cutting of the land drain, contexts 17, 16, 15, , and 14, in an east—west direction across the site at a date no earlier than the late 18th century and probably during the 19th century. A structure whose below ground elements at least were of brick and that had a decorative tiled floor was teffaced into the northem part of the trench area, probably during the 1840's when York Rise House and its associated ranges were erected. The low level of the courtyard in comparison to the height of "natural" immediately to the south is suggestive of extensive landscaping having occurred at the timc of major construction. The pet graves within the garden arc almost certainly of later 19th-20th century date. Within recent years the brick structure at the north end of the trench was demolished and backfilled from the floor level up to that of the modem ground surface. No indications of human burials were located and it is likely that the site lays outside the Lamel Hill area cemetery. It would appear that land usage in this vicinity in the post medieval period until the 19th century has been predominantly of an agricultural nature.