Coppergate, Clifford’s Tower, Coney Street, Duncombe Place
This page is one of a series covering the history of York through historic streets; street-names and buildings from A to Z. Here we journey from C to E taking in Castlegate and the nearby Clifford’s Tower that was once the great keep of York Castle. We also explore neighbouring Clifford Street, a largely Victorian street, from which old lanes lead down towards the River Ouse.
Back in the centre we explore Coppergate and Coney Street which are streets now noted for shopping that trace their origins back to Viking times. College Street, near York Minster is the home of the beautiful timber-framed St William’s College to which we pay a visit before taking in the refined buildings of Duncombe Place and Exhibition Square.
Castlegate
Castlegate was and is of course the street leading from the central area of the historic city of York towards York Castle. There are two Georgian buildings of note in this street, both designed by the Yorkshire architect, John Carr (1723-1807).
Often referred to as ‘Carr of York’, Carr was actually born at Holborn near Wakefield. However, he was twice Lord Mayor of York in 1770 and 1785 and resided at Askham Hall in Askham Richard to the south west of York.
Castlegate House, in Castlegate, dating from 1759 was built by Carr for York’s City Recorder, Peter Johnson. The other building by Carr in this street is Fairfax House, dating from 1755.
Described as ‘England’s finest Georgian Town House’, Fairfax House includes a fine collection of Georgian furniture and other Georgian items known as the Noel Terry Collection. The house was restored and saved from deterioration by the York Civic Trust in the early 1980s. Before that time the house had served as a dance hall and cinema.
A church has stood on the site of St Mary’s church in Castlegate since pre-conquest times, although most of the present church is twelfth or thirteenth century of Perpendicular style. Nevertheless, a dedication stone found in the church dates to around 1020. The names Ervard, Grim and Aese are mentioned on the stone.
St Mary’s once stood on the north side of a moat that protected the nearby castle. It was filled with water from the adjoining rivers Ouse and Foss. The moat, which had been filled in by 1234 was crossed by Castlegate.
Parts of St Mary’s church, which has a particularly tall spire, were rebuilt in the 1870s by the architect William Butterfield. St. Mary’s became redundant as a church in 1958 but reopened in 1975 as a heritage centre called the York Story and then subsequently became a contemporary visual arts venue in 2004.
St Mary’s church is located in Castlegate, which is on its west side but it also borders Coppergate Walk in the neighbouring shopping centre with the Jorvik Viking Centre on its north side. Queues for the Jorvik Viking Centre often gather outside this church.
At the south end of Castlegate around the corner from Fairfax House we enter the northern end of Tower Street, which overlooks Clifford’s Tower. This part of Tower Street is home to York Army Museum which is dedicated to the history of the Prince of Wales Own Regiment of Yorkshire (an infantry regiment) and the Royal Dragoon Guards (a cavalry regiment). Through its extensive collections, the museum explores the two regiments and the earlier regiments from which they developed.
Tower Street, once called Castlegate Postern Lane continues south along the eastern flank of Clifford’s Tower and the York Castle site to meet the Skeldergate Bridge across the River Ouse and the nearby Castle Mills Bridge that crosses the River Foss.
Clifford’s Tower and York Castle Museum
We now come to Clifford’s Tower, once part of York Castle that along with the city walls is the other great surviving defensive structure of medieval York.
Clifford Street, like Castlegate to its east, runs from Nessgate and Coppergate and takes us south from the centre of the city towards Clifford’s Tower. It is situated on a man-made mound or motte that occupies a strategic neck of land or peninsula formed by the River Ouse and the River Foss.
This tower, near the Castle Museum, was York Castle’s keep. The castle itself was one of two built at York by William the Conqueror, the other being at Baile Hill across the other side of the River Ouse.
Originally built of wood, York castle was burnt down in 1190 after an anti-Jewish mob, inflamed by anger and rumours, went on the rampage, looting Jewish properties and forcing members of York’s Jewish community (around 150 people) to seek refuge in the castle.
When the castle came under siege from the mob, the members of the Jewish community took their own lives, when it became clear they could not hold out against the attackers.
The tower of the castle keep on the mound or ‘motte’, was rebuilt and then rebuilt again in stone in 1250-1275. Once surrounded by a moat, the keep is called Clifford’s Tower from Roger De Clifford who was hanged here following the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322. Used later as a prison, the tower was garrisoned by the Royalists during the English Civil War.
The museum building was erected around 1705, originally as a debtors’ prison and the architect was probably William Wakefield. His style is similar to that later employed by Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor (See Castle Howard). A female debtors’ prison was added by John Carr in 1777.
The nearby Castle Museum along with York Crown Court (by John Carr, built 1773-77) also stand on the site of York castle, which of course included the keep we now call Clifford’s Tower.
York’s Castle Museum that occupies part of the old prison was opened in 1938 and was initially developed from the social history collection of the Pickering-based John Lamplugh Kirk.
Its most remarkable feature is the re-creation of a Victorian shopping street that is named ‘Kirkgate’ and thought to be the first of its kind. Today, each shop, accompanied by costumed guides, depicts real York businesses that operated between 1870 and 1901.
Other features of the museum include period rooms; a 1960s themed section and First World War themes, as well as displays and exhibits relating to York’s rogues, thieves and murderers that is in keeping with the building’s former role as a prison.
Just to the south east of the museum is Castle Mills Bridge, a minor bridge across the River Foss near the Castle Museum. This bridge is part of Tower Street and linked to the street of Piccadilly over on the east side of the Foss as well as being linked to Fishergate that takes us south of York via Fulford Road.
Just below Castle Mills Bridge, the River Foss hosts a small dock called Castle Mills Marina. Historically, this final stretch of the Foss was called Browney Dyke up to the point where it joins the Ouse. Immediately to the west of Castle Mills Bridge near Tower Gardens is the larger Skeldergate Bridge that crosses the neighbouring Ouse completing the crossing of the Ouse-Foss peninsula.
Clifford Street, which runs along the peninsula between the two rivers, is the most Victorian-dominated street in the historic heart of York and unlike neighbouring Castlegate does not follow the medieval street layout. It is linked to Ousegate Bridge via Nessgate to the north and to Skeldergate Bridge across the Ouse to the south.
In medieval times, a Franciscan friary once stood in the area now occupied by Clifford Street and is recalled in the name of the adjoining street of Friargate.
Clifford Street’s most prominent building is the York and Selby Magistrates Court with its prominent clock tower, that can be seen in views of York from across the River Ouse.
This courthouse, built of brick and stone, was designed by the architect H.A Matear of Liverpool and built in 1890-1892. It was perhaps inspired by early sixteenth century styles.
Other notable features of Clifford Street are the York Dungeon attraction. Established in 1986 at number 12 Clifford Street, this is a follow up to the London Dungeon (established in 1975) and adopts a similar theme. It consists of live action shows performed by actors and depicts elements of York’s criminal, gory and notorious past.
York’s Grand Opera House is situated nearby on the corner of Clifford Street and the adjoining Cumberland Street that leads down to the river. The Opera House building began life in 1868 as a Corn Exchange but was acquired by a theatre entrepreneur called William Peacock along with a warehouse to its rear. It was converted into a music hall, completed in 1902 and renamed the Grand Opera House and Empire Theatre in 1903.
The Cumberland Street entrance to the Opera House has a blue plaque commemorating the York-born actor and comedian, Frankie Howerd OBE (1917-1992), who was famed for his roles in the Carry On series of comedy films. Born Francis Howard, the ‘e’ spelling of ‘Howerd’ is his stage name. Frankie’s mother, Edith Howard worked at York’s Rowntree factory.
Cumberland Street leads down to the Ouse waterfront and more or less follows the course of a medieval street called Middle Water Lane. To its north was First Water Lane (now King Street) and to its south was Far Water Lane (now Low Friargate). Middle Water Lane (Cumberland Street) or at least part of the lane, was known in even earlier times as ‘Thruslane’ or ‘Thursgayle’, an old Viking name meaning ‘narrow lane of the giant’.
At the river end of Cumberland Street, on either side of the street, facing out towards the River Ouse we find the prominent Lowther public house and an early eighteenth century house called Cumberland House that dates from around 1710.
The house was built by an industrialist called William Cornwell who later became Lord Mayor of York. Like several buildings on this waterfront it has been prone to flooding from time to time, whenever the River Ouse bursts its banks.
Cumberland House was reputedly stayed in by Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. He was the youngest son of George II and stayed here on July 23, 1746 on return from the Battle of Culloden where he had commanded the British Army against the Scottish Jacobites.
College Street and St William’s College
College Street, once known as Vicars Lane, near York Minster is home to St William’s College, a medieval half-timber building dating from around 1465, with some later additions.
The college is named after William Fitzherbert, (died 1154) who was Archbishop of York from 1141 to 1147. He was a great-grandson of William the Conqueror and would become St William, the patron saint of York.
Miracles were attributed to William, particularly following his death. His shrine in York Minster became a focal point for pilgrimages to York.
Pilgrimage was an important economic source of revenue for religious centres in medieval times so stories of miracles were a good way of promoting York’s credentials as a centre of pilgrimage.
An information plaque at the entrance door to St William’s College states :
“A unique survival of a non-monastic religious building, the college is named after William Fitzherbert who was canonised in 1227. The college was founded in 1467 as a residence for priests serving chantry altars in the Minster. Sold after the reformation, it was owned by Sir Henry Jenkyns in 1642 and housed the printing presses of King Charles I during the Civil War. Restored by Frank Green in the 1900s, the Dean and Chapter became Trustrees in 1972.”
In medieval times the building housed twenty-three priests and a provost. It later became a private house whose successive occupants included Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle (1669-1738).
As noted on the plaque, during the reign of Charles I, St William’s College was temporarily the site of a Royal printing press. The wooden doors to the building were made by the Yorkshire woodcarver, Robert Thompson of Kilburn, whose trademark mouse appears on the right-hand door. The figure of St William appears above the main door.
Old streets and buildings like College Street and St William’s College are an inevitable focus for ghost stories in cities like York. St William’s College is said to be haunted by the older of two impoverished brothers who robbed a clergyman, during the sixteenth century.
Assisted by his reluctant younger sibling, the older brother stabbed and killed the clergyman during the struggle. This had not been part of the plan and the terrified younger brother hid in a cabinet with the clergymen’s items.
Fearing his younger brother would confess, the elder brother betrayed the younger one, handing him over to the authorities. The younger brother was hanged for the crime but the elder brother walked free. He came to feel remorse for the betrayal and it is he who regretfully haunts the college corridors.
Close by, number 5 College Street is said to be haunted by a crying seventeenth century child, a little girl whose whole family were all killed by plague, leaving her to starve to death.
Coney Street
Coney Street is one of York’s main shopping streets, where familiar high street retailers serve both locals and tourists. However, some buildings in the street are timber-framed structures. Coney Street runs along the course of a stretch of Roman road that lay just outside the Roman fortress and ran almost parallel to the eastern bank of the River Ouse.
The earliest record of Coney Street’s name is in 1213 when it was called ‘Cuningstreta’, deriving from the Viking word ‘Konungra’ and ‘straet’ – a street. Konungr means king, so it was the King’s street. Coney Street was once divided into three stretches, namely Old Coney Street to the north of St Helen’s Square; Coney Street in the middle and Little Coney Street to the south. Old Coney Street is now called Lendal while Little Coney Street is now Spurriergate.
The Mansion House, located where Coney Street meets Lendal in St Helen’s Square is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of York and was built 1725-27 by John Etty. It has an interesting collection of city regalia, including a fifteenth century Sword of State and the Great Mace of 1647.
The medieval church of St Martin-le Grand is located on the south side of Coney Street. Its recorded history goes back as far as the Domesday Book but the church was severely damaged during a World War Two bombing raid in 1942. The church’s tower (1427) was originally the south western tower.
Some interesting stained glass can be seen within the church, but much of the church is a rebuilding of the 1960s. A pretty clock protrudes from the church exterior overlooking shoppers in busy Coney Street. It dates from 1668 but was given a new dial in 1778. The figure of an admiral with a sextant usually stands on top of the clock but is currently missing while it undergoes repairs.
Almost opposite the church, to the south, is the entrance to New Street which links Coney Street to Davygate. On the corner of New Street and Coney Street are old some timber-framed buildings.
Staying on this east side of Coney Street is a narrow ‘ginnel’ called Judges Court near the Judges Court Hotel. The passageway and neighbouring building are said to be haunted by a large man, wearing spurs, who drags his feet. He is supposedly associated with the body of a man discovered in a nearby well.
Further south, towards the Spurriergate end of the street, near the junction with Market Street is a building of 1907 with some interesting half-timber features, heraldic shields and a clock. It has lots of character but this is all of the twentieth century.
Coppergate
Coppergate’s name comes from the Viking ‘Kopparigat’ which means the ‘street of the joiners or turners’. Viking houses have been excavated in the area to the south of the street leading down to the banks of the River Foss.
As well as the houses and workshops and the in situ street layout within the Jorvik museum, around 15,000 Viking items have been uncovered, including tools, jewellery and cooking utensils. Waterlogged conditions and the build up of silt over time provided conditions that preserved many of the finds.
The excavation of the site by archaeologists took place over five years, commencing in 1976, and was below the present street level. Today, much of the site is below ground underneath the present Coppergate shopping centre that was built over the archaeological site. Items from the excavation are displayed in the popular Jorvik Viking Centre located here.
The modern red-brick pedestrianised shopping centre on the site of the excavation is centred on a modern street called Coppergate Walk that adjoins Coppergate to its north and includes the Fenwick Department store.
Fenwick is a department store that began life in Newcastle upon Tyne where the first store was founded by a Yorkshireman, John Fenwick of Richmond. The shopping area that hosts the Fenwick store in York is bordered by the Georgian Fairfax House in Castlegate and the stone-spired church of St Mary that stands right next to the Viking museum.
At its north eastern end, the street of Coppergate itself connects to Pavement, Piccadilly and High Ousegate near the church of All Saints (Pavement). At its south-western end Coppergate meets with Castlegate and Clifford Street, where it continues towards the River Ouse waterfront as King Street.
One feature of Coppergate is an interesting little pub, one of so many in York. Called the Three Tuns, an information board on its exterior notes that it was first licensed in 1782 and that intriguingly, a cache of gold coins dating from the time of King Charles I was found hidden in one the original old beams during a renovation.
Davygate
Davygate is named after David Le Lardiner (the clerk of a kitchen). In the twelfth century David’s father, John, was the Royal Lardiner for the Forest of Galtres – a title which became hereditary in the family. Davygate was the site of the forest courthouse and prison. The Forest of Galtres lay to the north of York.
Davygate joins St Helen’s Square and Stonegate at its north end and continues northward as Blake Street. At its south end, Davygate joins Feasgate and St Sampson’s Square after which it becomes Parliament Street.
Duncombe Place
Duncombe Place is a short continuation of Museum Street, linking that street with High Petergate to the north. It is of nineteenth century origin, as too is the neighbouring St Leonard’s Place which curves its way towards Exhibition Square. The Duncombe Place and St Leonard’s Place areas lie within the old city walls but Exhibition Square is just outside the walls.
Duncombe Place is named from a Dean of York called Augustus Duncombe (1814-1880) who was Dean from 1858. He was a member of a noted family connected with Duncombe Park near Helmsley and served as Dean up until his death.
At the north end of Duncombe Place opposite the Minster Yard there is a quiet haven of green, a Garden of Remembrance, which contains the prominent South African War Memorial commemorating men from Yorkshire who died in the Boer War 1899-1902.
Duncombe Place has a rather refined look today, but surprisingly it was built on the site of a lane called ‘Lop Lane’, that signified a place infested with fleas or spiders.
One of the most notable buildings towards the south end of the present street is the Red House, built for Sir William Robinson in 1700. Robinson was a one time mayor and MP for York. The city’s coat of arms can be seen above the doorway to the house.
Nearby Blake Street which links Duncombe Place to St Helen’s Square is the home of the York Assembly Rooms. The Assembly Rooms were built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1730 in a Neo-Classical style with Egyptian influence. It was built as a grand ball room. The visiting Daniel Defoe would later describe the work as ‘tasteless’.
Blake Street could be named from a Viking called Bleikr or alternatively was a Viking word for a street in which bleaching took place. It could come from an Old Norwegian word ‘bleik’ meaning ‘bleaching’ or a similar old Danish word ‘bleg’ of the same meaning that often occurs in old street-names in Denmark.
Exhibition Square
Situated near Bootham Bar but outside the city walls, Exhibition Square is one of those hubs where visitors gather in York. It is near the King’s Manor and the entrance to the Museum Gardens that host the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey.
As noted on the information board attached to the nearby railings of the King’s Manor; Exhibition Square was created in 1879. This was the year of a Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition, held in the purpose-built building that is now York’s city art gallery.
The gallery itself dominates the square and outside is a statue of the famed York-born artist William Etty (1787 – 1849) whose tomb can be seen in the graveyard of the church of St Olave in nearby Marygate.
Etty, a member of the Royal Academy, was famed for his paintings of nudes and was an instrumental figure in campaigning to preserve the York City Walls which faced demolition in the 1830s.
Usually, it is obvious whether you are inside or outside the city walls but one major section of the city walls was in fact demolished in the early nineteenth near Bootham Bar, where we now find St Leonard’s Place and Exhibition Square.
This missing stretch of the wall begins where we now find the De Grey Rooms in St Leonard’s Place next to Bootham Bar and the gap continues across Exhibition Square with the wall reappearing near the south side of the King’s Manor.
The only remaining section of the wall in this gap is a short, diminutive stretch of the earlier Roman wall on which some parts of the later medieval city wall were built. This remnant of the Roman wall can be seen in St Leonard’s Place across the road from York Theatre Royal.
Some confusion about the course of the York city wall in the Exhibition Square area may be caused by another section of wall and a tower that can be seen in Exhibition Square itself, bordering the neighbouring street of Bootham.
However, this is not part of the city wall, but part of the medieval wall of St Mary’s Abbey that stood outside the city walls. The abbey walls were once connected to the city walls near Bootham Bar (see Marygate).
- A-B : Aldwark to Bootham
- C-E : Castlegate, Coppergate, Exhibition Square
- F-J : Fossgate, Fishergate, Goodramgate
- K-L : King Street, King’s Square, Lord Mayor’s Walk
- M-O : Marygate, the abbey, Micklegate, Ousegate
- P : Patrick Pool, Pavement, High and Low Petergate
- S-W : Shambles, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate
- Y : York City Walls | York Minster | York Origins
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