Explore Back Swinegate

Known as Swinegate, along with Little Stonegate, until the name was moved to the present in 1541 to reflect the changing use of the streets. The name Swinegate derives from the Old Norse word “gata,” along with “swine,” referring to pigs. This indicates that the area was historically associated with pig trading and livestock markets. It links via Finkle Street and Nether Hornpot Lane to the Cattle market and Feasegate, named also from Gata and Failh meaning cows.

Back Swinegate may have served as a secondary lane or service road behind the main Swinegate, providing access to yards, stables, and workshops related to the livestock trade. It is a historic street with a rich past that reflects the evolution of the area from medieval times to the present day.

The origins of Back Swinegate date back to the Roman period an Archaeological excavation of the Swinegate, Back Swinegate and Little Stonegate in 1989 found remains from the 1st AD through to the 14th Century.

However Swinegayl is first recorded in 1276 (Palliser 1978, 13). Back Swinegate postdating the cemetery of St Benet’s church (Dean 2013, Figure 27) suggesting
that it may represent a later medieval adaptation of the street pattern, which occurred after the closure of the church around 1299-1307.

The area was dominated by the church of St Benedict (or Benet), named for Benedict Biscop, a Northumbrian saint who lived from 628-689 and was possibly built as early as the 8th century definitely by the late 9th century, as coffins of that date were found during the dig.
It was thought to be located to the north of the junction of the present streets of Back Swinegate and Swinegate and was first recorded, along with St Sampson in 1154 when they were given by William Rainer, the king’s clerk, to Pontefract Priory. By
the 1220s the two churches were considered as a single parish, with St
Sampson’s being the parish church. St Benets went out of use and was demolished at the end of the 13th Century.
By the 1320s the churchyard of St Benet’s was falling into disrepute as a place of prostitution and in 1337 the churchyard was described as “lying waste and covered with rubbish”. In 1361 the site of the former church was acquired by the Vicars
Choral, who demolished the church and built a row of houses there to rent out. These houses became known as ‘Benetplace’ or ‘Benetrents’. By 1364 the Vicars Choral were collecting rents from 12 tenants living in these houses. The location of Benet Rents, and the earlier church, is shown on the 1852 Ordnance survey map of York.

The 1989 Excavation on the street frontage revealed buildings from the mid- to late 14th century date. These seem to be associated with evidence for metalworking, both copper-working and the production of nails shown in the trenches in the back yards

Later use of the area seems to be domestic with workshops behind for craftsmen, with no front facing businesses listed in the trade directories of the late 18th, 19th and 20th centuries until after the excavations.