York’s Historic Environment Record (HER) holds information on the city’s archaeological finds, historic buildings and monuments, from a variety of sources such as:
- archaeological reports
- historic maps
- trade directories
You can browse an online version of monument data from York’s HER via Heritage Gateway - please note the 'City of York HER' does not cover the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales or areas under North Yorkshire County Council control; these are listed seperately on Heritage Gateway.
Heritage Gateway should not be used as a substitute source of information by those conducting commercial archaeological work.
Searching York’s Historic Environment Record (HER)
Read our HER information policy before requesting a data search.
Commercial request for information
Complete a commercial HER request form if you're a business or commercial entity.
There are 3 types of search available and fees depend on the type of search you require:
- HER Commercial Basic Search (without designation data) - £105 per hour
- HER Commercial Enhanced Search (inc. designation data) - £210 per hour
- HER Commercial Rapid Response - additional £40 per hour to prices listed above (availability dependent on staff resources)
Non-commercial request for information
Complete a non-commercial HER request form (based on an area search) if you're a student, individual or community group, or you require information for private study or research.
Make a non-commercial HER request
There's no charge for this service.
Information about a specific building or monument
If you require information about a specific building or monument, it may be easier to consult Heritage Gateway or contact us directly.
Map of HER archaeological events
Use the 'archaeological events' map to locate and find information about archaeological events around the city. If the report number (SYOXXX) is known, you can download the report directly by searching the following download folders:
To use the map, zoom in on a desired area and click on a yellow star to access archaeological reports (red star = no linked report).
Other sources of historical information
Further information may be found at:
- York Museum Trust Archaeology Collection
- York Explore library and archives
- The Borthwick Institute
- York University
- York Images (an online photographic collection)
You can add additional information regarding listed buildings and structures via the Enriching the List project run by Historic England.
Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC)
Characterisation of rural landscapes and urban townscapes attempts to bring together historic and contemporary aspects of a place to help understand and appreciate it better. It provides information for individuals, communities, planners and developers.
The York HER benefits from 2 characterisation studies, the North Yorkshire HER (2005 to 2010) and York Historic Environment Characterisation Project (2012 to 2013).