Feasegate is a street in the city centre of
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, in England.
History
The street lies over the south corner tower of the walls of Roman
Eboracum
Eboracum () was a castra, fort and later a coloniae, city in the Roman province of Roman Britain, 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 ...
. The street was in existence by the
Jorvik
Scandinavian York or Viking York () is a term used by historians for what is now Yorkshire during the period of Scandinavian domination from late 9th century until it was annexed and integrated into England after the Norman Conquest; in parti ...
period, from which period there are substantial deposits, including evidence of craft working. The name of the street comes from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
word for "
cow house", and the street itself was first recorded in 1256.
William Etty
William Etty (10 March 1787 – 13 November 1849) was an English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude figures. He was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Born in York, he left sch ...
was born at the now-demolished 20 Feasegate in 1787. None of the current buildings on the street date to earlier than the 18th century.
The street forms part of the city's central shopping area. However, by 2018, it had only one stand-alone shop, with other properties being empty, or in use for food businesses.
Layout and architecture

The street runs south from
St Sampson's Square to
Market Street. Notable buildings on the west side include 1 Feasegate, built in 1770 by Robert Woodhouse; 5 and 7 Feasegate, designed by W. Brown in 1885, and with what
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
described as "a remarkably radical piece of work", with a wrought iron a plate glass front; the three-storey 7a Feasegate, built in the late 19th century;
and the mid-19th century 19–23 Feasegate. On the east side lies 4 and 6 Feasegate, built about 1840.
References
{{Streets of York
Streets in York