Coppergate Shopping Centre is a

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is named after

Coppergate Coppergate is a street in the city centre of York, in England. The street runs north-east from the junction of Castlegate, Nessgate, King Street and Clifford Street, to end at the junction of Pavement, Piccadilly, Parliament Street and Hig ...

, one of York's medieval streets ("gate" coming from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

''gata'', or street).

History

Prior to the development of the shopping centre, archaeologists started digging on the site, which had been the Cravens confectionery factory. Between 1976–81, York Archaeological Trust unearthed remains of 10th-century Viking-age buildings from the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

city of

Jorvik Scandinavian York ( non, Jórvík) Viking Yorkshire or Norwegian York is a term used by historians for the south of Northumbria (modern-day Yorkshire) during the period of the late 9th century and first half of the 10th century, when it was do ...

. The remains lay in moist, spongy layers of earth similar to a

peat bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

. The damp conditions had helped to preserve everyday Viking items such as wood, leather, cloth, bugs and even a Viking toilet and its contents. Over 40,000 objects were uncovered by excavating 36,000 layers and sieving eight tonnes of soil. When the extent and importance of the discoveries at Coppergate were realised, plans were made to allow permanent display of the remains of Jorvik within the excavation area. York Archaeological Trust created the

Jorvik Viking Centre The Jorvik Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England, containing lifelike mannequins and life-size dioramas depicting Viking life in the city. Visitors are taken through the dioramas in small carriages equipped with spea ...

which opened to the public in April 1984. The exhibits in the Centre are based on evidence unearthed during the Coppergate excavations.

Redevelopment plans

In 2001 developers launched a £60 million development scheme entitled 'Coppergate II' to redevelop the centre, including demolition of the existing centre and a new build project with shops either side of the

River Foss The River Foss is in North Yorkshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse. It rises in the Foss Crooks Woods near Oulston Reservoir close to the village of Yearsley and runs south through the Vale of York to the ...

. Retailers set to anchor the scheme included a new enlargened

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

and others. However the reaction from the public was negative and a petition was launched, this prompted a public inquiry and in September 2003 the scheme was turned down by the government. The level of opposition was due to some of parts of the shopping centre being in extremely close proximity to

Clifford's Tower York Castle is a fortified complex in the city of York, England. It consists of a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings, which were built over the last nine centuries on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruine ...

Centre information

The shopping centre houses many shops, cafes and museums, including the

. Owned by La Salle Investment Management since February 2008, the centre is an open-air shopping promenade with covered walkways, and large public squares with fountains and planting beds, set with seats and coffee shops. Also included is St Mary's Church, which now displays modern art. This outdoor area is used to host brass bands, theatre productions and other events from York's many festivals.

References

External links

Official Coppergate WebsiteYork Tourism information on CoppergateShopping in York - St. John University
{{Shopping centres in Yorkshire and the Humber Buildings and structures in York Coppergate Shopping centres in North Yorkshire

History

Redevelopment plans

Centre information

See also

References

External links