Medieval Urbanism in Coppergate

Refining a townscape

by RA Hall and K Hunter-Mann

Excavation of four medieval properties in Coppergate, a street known to be particularly prosperous in the 13th–15th centuries, has revealed the most extensive archaeological view of an 11th- to 17th-century secular townscape ever recovered in York.

Anoxic conditions which preserved the underlying Viking Age remains so well, were maintained in 11th- to 13th-century deposits. They allow an unprecedented view of York’s houses, workshops and properties during centuries when none survive above ground and documentation is sparse. The report fills another gap in knowledge by extending this view into the extensively built-up medieval backyards, where other sources do not often take us. The relationship of these properties with the regime of the adjacent River Foss King’s Fishpool is also explored.

Info: 224pp, 110 illustrations
Last few copies remaining - contact CBA to purchase