Remnants of what is believed to be one of the largest medieval hospitals in the north of England have been found inside the void which recently opened on St Leonard’s Place in central York.
The void, which is in the middle of the road outside York Theatre Royal, was made safe before contractors and archaeology teams began investigation works. These also necessitated a lane closure to keep workers, traffic and the public safe.
Once the void had been accessed, archaeologists uncovered what is believed to be part of the 12th-13th century St Leonard's Hospital which stretched from the modern day Museum Gardens to the Theatre Royal. This was an area that post Reformation was used as the Royal Mint, giving it its post medieval name of Mint Yard, which were demolished several hundred years ago and a road made on top of it. The archaeological find was discovered as work was taking place to repair the sinkhole on St Leonard’s Place.
The findings have been recorded in line with CIFA standards, images have been taken and recorded with further analysis to take place.
It is anticipated that the remains are likely the buildings of Mint Yard, which by the 1800’s were a warren of residencies, yards and stables and were demolished to make way from the new Georgian streetscape in 1836, as it became one of the most fashionable parts of the city at the time. The demolished parts of the city walls were then used to create a base for their new road, which we now know as St Leonard’s Place.
Following the archaeological recording, it has now been deemed that works can resume to repair the void. It is expected that work in the current area will take until Tuesday morning, before moving the site closer to the Theatre Royal, to ensure the road surface is fully repaired. During this period the traffic management arrangements will stay the same and it is hoped that the road will reopen to two-way traffic on Friday 13 June.
Councillor Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport said:
We thank people for their patience and we know these emergency works have caused disruption to residents, visitors and bus operators.
"We knew that there is a lot of complex archaeology in the area dating back to the Roman legionary fortress. Throughout the works we have been live to this while doing all we can to get off site as quickly as possible. However these finds, while fascinating, have set our timescales back a bit.
“We will continue to share updates as the work progresses. At peak times the inner ring road is very busy so we're asking people to plan ahead, use the outer ring road to traverse the city where possible and consider other ways to travel to the city centre. That includes getting the bus, walking or cycling. While some buses are being diverted they will continue to serve communities across the city. Dedicated travel information is available at www.york.gov.uk/StLeonardsPlace.”