The Norman House is a

grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

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. Although in ruins, it has been described as "York's oldest house", dating from the 12th century. The building was constructed in the late 12th century, about 14 metres to the north of the street of Stonegate. Although the area had been occupied in the 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 ...

period, it had been abandoned. It is believed that it was open ground until new building plots were laid out under the influence of the clergy of

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

, as it lay within the Liberty of St Peter. While many of the new buildings were tenements, others were impressive houses, several of which were used by religious office-holders. The Norman House was a two-storey structure, built of

Magnesian Limestone The Magnesian Limestone is a suite of carbonate rocks in north-east England dating from the Permian period. The outcrop stretches from Nottingham northwards through Yorkshire and into County Durham where it is exposed along the coast between Ha ...

, and based on surviving walls, each floor measured at least 11 feet by 6. The ground floor

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

had three pillars, supporting the upper storey. This was probably an open hall, and it was lit by windows to the south-west. The

York Civic Trust York Civic Trust is a membership organisation and a registered charity based in York, UK. Its primary function is to "preserve, protect and advise on the historic fabric of York". It is based in Fairfax House. Foundation York Civic Trust was fo ...

speculates that the house may originally have been built as the house of a Jewish financier. The Jews in York were massacred in 1190, and by the time the house was first recorded, in 1376, it belonged to the prebend of Ampleforth. It remained in use by clergy linked to the Minster for the next few centuries. It was largely demolished in or before the 18th century, but two walls survived, incorporated in later buildings. In 1939, demolition of later buildings revealed the two surviving walls of the house, and also the bases of the pillars of the undercroft, and the base of a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

shaft. The shaft and pillars were three-and-a-half feet below the current ground level, and so were covered over, but the walls were preserved, and the former interior of the building made into a small courtyard, so that the remains can be viewed from the inside. They are accessed by a snickelway, running between numbers 50 and 52 Stonegate. The south-east wall is believed to have been a gable end. Its stonework is only present in patches, infilled with later brick, but it does include a cupboard, with grooves showing where doors and a shelf would have sat. The south-west wall is more complete, and includes a double-arched window, in the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

style. The north-west wall is of a later date, but includes some stones taken from the original house. The house was made a scheduled monument, and in 1954 also became a Grade I listed building. Although it is in ruins, the Civic Trust describes it as "York's oldest house", while the ''An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York'' states that "the remains are of great historical interest".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman House, The Grade I listed buildings in York Houses completed in the 12th century Houses in North Yorkshire Norman architecture in England Scheduled monuments in York Stonegate (York)