Fishergate is a street and surrounding area 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

Fishergate runs along a strip of slightly raised ground, east of the River Ouse. Archaeological investigations have found evidence of prehistoric occupation, before the construction of Roman

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 ...

. By the 1st century, a major

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 ...

ran south from the city, through what is now Fishergate Bar and along the line of Fawcett Street before joining the line of modern Fishergate. Cemeteries also existed in the area. In Anglian times the area was the city's major manufacturing and trading centre. Archaeological finds in 1985–1986 included traces of 8th–9th century timber buildings and metals, bone and leather representative of the industrial activity in the area. The area remained occupied in the

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 ...

period, during which the old Roman road became known as "Fiscergate", the street of the fishers. St Helen's Church was constructed west of Fishergate, and All Saints' Church to its east. In the 14th century, the

York city walls York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. They are known variously as York City Wal ...

were constructed immediately north of the northernmost part of the street, probably over an existing earth rampart, with Fishergate Bar rebuilt in stone. In the 12th century, St Andrew's Priory was constructed to the west of Fishergate. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the land was probably used as an orchard, and Mediaeval settlement soon disappeared, possibly due to destruction during the

Siege of York The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Ar ...

in 1644. In 1730, New Walk was constructed by the river, and Fishergate became a popular residential area, with some large houses constructed. In 1827, a cattle market was opened at the northern end of the street, and the modern line of the northern part of the street was established further west, with the old route becoming Fawcett Street and Escrick Terrace. To its west lay the Redfearn National Glass Factory and some open land. In the 1950s, factories were built on the open land, and the glassworks relocated to

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

. These industrial buildings were cleared in the late 20th century.

Layout and architecture

The street runs south-east from 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 ...

at Castle Mills Bridge, as the continuation of Tower Street. It turns south and continues until it becomes Fulford Road, at its junction with New Walk Terrace and Grange Garth. On its east side, it has junctions with

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, Paragon Street, Kent Street, Escrick Terrace, Escrick Street, Melbourne Street and Winterscale Street, while on its west side, it has junctions with Oxtoby Court, Fewster Way, Blue Bridge Lane, Marlborough Grange and Sandringham Street. The street forms part of the A1036, and its section from Castle Mills Bridge to Escrick Terrace is part of the inner ring road, with the section from Paragon Street to Escrick Terrace is open to northbound traffic only. Notable buildings on the east side street include part of the city walls; The Edinburgh Arms pub, built as a house in 1830; 29 Fishergate, a late 18th-century building which served for a time as the Nunnery of the Sisters of St Vincent; the early-19th century Ivy Cottage; and Fishergate County Primary School, built in 1893 by W. H. Brierley. On the west side lie The Masons Arms, a pub built in 1935 to a design by James Knight; 16-40 Fishergate, a terrace built in 1830; an early-21st century bingo hall; and the Lighthorseman Hotel, a pub built about 1870. Fishergate House, built in 1837 by J. B. and William Atkinson, formerly had an address on the street but is now said to lie on Blue Bridge Lane.

Ward

In the 2003 local elections, the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

were elected in both Fishergate Ward

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

seats and these seats have been held since, most recently in the 2019 council elections. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 9,844.

Gallery

File:Fishergate Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 1156975.jpg, Fishergate Primary School File:The Lighthorseman Public House, Fulford Road, York - geograph.org.uk - 1751626.jpg, The Lighthorseman File:The Edinburgh Arms - geograph.org.uk - 1156930.jpg, The Edinburgh Arms File:The Masons Arms, Fishergate - geograph.org.uk - 677071.jpg, The Masons Arms

References

External links

Official Fishergate ward page
{{Streets of York Streets in York Villages and areas in the City of York