Lendal 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 was first mentioned in the 1380s, when it was known as Aldeconyngstrete (Old

Coney Street Coney Street is a major shopping street in the city centre of York, in England. The street runs north-west from the junction of Spurriergate and Market Street, to St Helen's Square. New Street leads off the north-east side of the street, as ...

). However, by 1641, it had become known as "Lendal", a contraction of "St Leonard's Hill". This "hill" was the quay on the River Ouse belonging to

St Leonard's Hospital St Leonard's Hospital may refer to: * St Leonard's Hospital, Ferndown, a community hospital in Dorset * St Leonard's Hospital, Hackney St Leonard's Hospital is a hospital in Hackney, North London. History The hospital was founded as the infir ...

, which lay at the north-western end of the street. Most of the south-western side of the street was occupied by the Augustinian Friary, which was dissolved in 1538. St Wilfrid's Church lay on the north-east side until it was demolished later in the 16th-century. In about 1710, the city's main

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

was built on the south-west side, while the large Judges' Lodgings house was built on the north-east side by Clifton Wintringham about 1720. For 24 years, a statue of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

outside a tobacconist's shop on Lendal was a local landmark. York Post Office remained on the street until 2019, when it moved to Coney Street. Banks, located on Lendal, is the oldest music shop in Britain, having been founded in 1756.

Layout and architecture

The street runs north-west from

St Helen's Square St Helen's Square is an open space in the city centre of York, England. History During the Roman era, Eboracum's south-western gate, the ''porta praetorian'', lay where the square is now located. Until the mid-18th century, much of the space ...

Museum Street Museum Street is a street in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, England. To the north is the British Museum, hence its current name. The street is populated by cafes and bookshops to appeal to the international museum-going p ...

. South of St Helen's Square, it continues as Coney Street. Museum Street was formerly known as Back Lendal, and both

Lendal Tower Lendal Tower is a medieval tower that formed part of the York city walls, city defences of York, England. It is located on the east bank of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse at the point where the river enters the walled city from the north ...

on 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 ...

, and

Lendal 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 ...

lie on Museum Street, near where Lendal meets it. Judges' Lodgings lies on the north-east side of the street, while other listed buildings include the 19th-century Lendal House, and the terrace 13-23 Lendal, built in 1766. On the south-west side, 2 Lendal was built as a Congregational Chapel, built in 1816 by Pritchett and Watson. 8 Lendal was built in the 17th-century as Lendal House, although it was refronted in the 19th-century. 4A and 4B, behind it, are its former boat house and stable, and incorporate a surviving part of the friary wall. The terrace at 10, 12 and 14 Lendal was built in 1714, while the former post office, and Lendal Cellars, down an alleyway, are all listed.

References

{{Streets of York Streets in York