Fossgate is a street in the city centre of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, in England.

History

The street is believed to follow the line of a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

leading south-east out of

Eboracum Eboracum () was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimate ...

. Although it lay outside the

Roman walls Defensive walls are a feature of ancient Roman architecture. The Romans generally fortified cities, rather than building stand-alone fortresses, but there are some fortified camps, such as the Saxon Shore forts like Porchester Castle in England. ...

, it is known that there was a civilian settlement in the area. There is no evidence of occupation in the Anglian period, but in Scandinavian

Jorvik Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

, it was fully built up, mostly for industrial and commercial uses. The street was first mentioned in about 1130. In the Medieval period, it fell within the parish of St Crux, and that church was sometimes regarded as lying on the street, although it was entered from Pavement. In 1295, the

York Carmelite Friary York Carmelite Friary was a friary in York, North Yorkshire, England, that was established in about 1250, moved to its permanent site in 1295 and was surrendered in 1538. The original site was on Bootham in York until 1295 when William de Vescy ...

was built to the east of the street, and it was entered from a gateway near the Pavement end of Fossgate. In 1357, the Merchant Adventurer's Hall was built, set back from the street. Many of the boundaries between building plots also date from this period. In 1590, a cattle market was established on the street, held every second Thursday, and from 1632, an annual cattle fair was also held. By the 19th-century, it was being held further out of town. In 1663, the St Crux Parish Almshouse was built on the street, but it was demolished in 1935. Most of the buildings on the street were repeatedly reconstructed from the 17th- to the 19th-century, and the street was widened in 1812. A brewery operated on the street. By the 19th-century, Fossgate was regarded as one of the poorer streets in the city, and the York's Chartist Association Room was on Straker's Passage, just off the street. A Methodist

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

was built in 1822, and the following year, it also became an infants' school, closing in 1853. With the decline of trade along the

River Foss The River Foss is in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks Woods near Oulston Reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the Ouse in the centre of ...

in the 20th-century, Fossgate became less important. It is currently lined with independent shops, pubs and restaurants.

Layout and architecture

The street runs south-east, from the junction of Pavement, Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate and Stonebow, to

Foss Bridge There are nine bridges across the River Ouse within the city of York, England, and sixteen smaller bridges and passages across the narrower River Foss. Bridges over the Ouse The earliest bridge, built by the Romans, linked Stonegate (the ''vi ...

over the River Foss. Beyond the river, it continues as

Walmgate Walmgate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. During the Middle Ages, Medieval period, the street was the site of a seafissh and cattle market. Walmgate Bar, was involved in the Siege of York in 1644, during the First English Civ ...

. Lady Peckett's Yard, a snickelway, runs off the south-west side of the street, while Straker's Passage and Franklin's Yard run off its north-east side. Notable buildings on the north-east side include the 17th-century 8 Fossgate; the timber-framed 15 and 16 Fossgate, built about 1600; and the former Electric Cinema, the city's first purpose-built cinema. On the south-west side lie 35 Fossgate, built in about 1815 as the King's Arms; the tiny Blue Bell pub; 55-56 Fossgate, built in 1796; and the 17th-century gatehouse to the Merchant Adventurer's Hall, with the hall itself hidden behind.

References

External links

* {{Streets of York Streets in York