Davygate

Location of plaque: St Helen’s Church in Davygate/St Helen’s Square

ON September 30, 1168, a man by the name of David le Lardiner appeared before the York Assizes to assert his right to a portion of all the provisions sold in Thursday Market (what is now St Sampson's Square).

Le Lardiner was the holder of the hereditary title of King's Larderer. The King of England kept a 'larder' in York which was used to supply foods and refreshments (including venison from the Forest of Galtres and provisions from the York markets) to the king's household. It was le Lardiner's responsibility to keep this larder stocked. The people of the city were expected to furnish provisions free of charge.

Naturally enough, there was some resentment at this. In 1168 the city council attempted to have the larderer's 'liberties and privileges' removed: hence that appearance before York Assizes.

Le Lardiner stuck to his guns, and insisted in court that he was entitled 'to receive of every Baker who sells Bread there every Saturday, a Halfpenny loaf, or a Halfpenny; and of every Brewer of Ale there, that sells any Ale, a Gallon Flagon of the best Ale, or the Value of it; and of every Shamble where Flesh is sold, and of every one that sells Flesh there, a Pennyworth of Flesh, or a Penny every Week; and of every Carrier of Fish at Foss-Bridge, four Pennyworth of Fish, or Fourpence...'

Le Lardiner won: and he and his descendants continued to collect this tax in food and provisions for almost another 100 years.

Eventually, the family gave up their entitlement in 1253 when challenged once again by the Lord Mayor of York. But the name of David le Lardiner lives on in the name of the street today: Davygate.

The king's larder seems originally to have been established in York by David's father, John, who came to England some time after the Norman Conquest as the 'steward of the king's larder'. On his death, his son inherited the position, which was then passed down from generation to generation.

The larder was established in the angle of the southern walls of the old Roman fortress, which in David le Lardiner's day survived to a height of several feet above ground level. Over the years, a large establishment known as Davy Hall - named after David - grew up here to hold the larder's provisions. Davy Hall ultimately passed its name on to Davygate.

There was more than just a larder here: there was the larderer's house, plus a court and a prison. The Forest of Galtres was a royal forest, so any poachers caught there were beyond the jurisdiction of local authorities. They could only be dealt with in the king's court in the larder - and imprisoned there, too.

The le Lardiner family gave up their right to free provisions for the king's larder in 1253. By 1427, Davy Hall was in ruins, and after 1679, it was divided into tenements.

In 1730, work began on the new Assembly Rooms in Blake Street. Access to Blake Street, however, was 'interrupted' by the churchyard of St Helen's. It was agreed that part of this churchyard would be 'cut off... so as a coach may drive with greater ease and conveniency' to the Assembly Rooms. In 1745, Davy Hall was demolished to provide a site for a new burial ground. The old churchyard, meanwhile, was levelled and paved to form part of St Helen's Square, an impressive civic square in front of the new Mansion House, which had been completed in the 1730s.

The south-east part of Davygate was widened after 1891, and nearly every building in the street today was built after 1900. Brown’s department store, which was founded in 1891 by Henry Rhodes Brown, itself moved to its present site that year.

Even though most of the buildings in Davygate are comparatively recent, however - at least in York terms - an echo of the ancient office of the king's larderer of York lives on in the street's name. And excavations have revealed, underneath the buildings along the street's south west side, the remains of the Roman fortress walls which were the reason why the larder was established here.

Stephen Lewis

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