York Historic Environment Record

Watching brief: Beginning on the 18th July 1994, York Archaeological Trust carried out a watching brief during repair work on a 17m long section of the City wall adjacent to the Railway Station to the west of the city (N.G.R. SE 5973 5173). The repair works involved the removal of the flagged surface of the wall walk and tower 16 and excavation in a series of trenches through the deposits beneath to allow the placing of metal tie bars between the rampart wall and wall walk wall. Several holes were drilled through the rampart and wall walk walls to accommodate the tie bars. In order not to weaken the structures these excavations along the wall were separated by unexcavated areas where only the flagstones were re-bedded. Beginning on the 24th November 1994, York Archaeological Trust carried out a watching brief during repair work on a 2.00m length of the City wall to the south-west of the Robin Hood Tower at the northern corner of the City walls (N.G.R. SE 6030 5243). The repair works involved the removal of the flagged surface of I the wall walk and excavation through the deposits beneath to allow the placing of metal tie bars between the rampart wall and wall walk wall. The stones of the internal faces of the rampart I and wall walk walls, below the wall walk surface, were tied together with metal clamps, some of which were linked together with tie bars between the two walls. The material excavated in the trench would all appear to be of a contemporary date to the restoration work of 188819, which created the present wall walk. The faced internal surface of the rampart wall indicates that this wall was not originally obscured by a wall walk. Beginning on 9th January 1995 York Archaeological Trust carried out a watching brief during repairs to a 100 metre length of the city walls between Monk Bar and Layerthorpe Postern at chainage 2300-2400 (NGR SE 6064 5218). The repairs involved the removal of the current wall walk surface followed by the excavation of trenches at intervals along the wall walk to allow the insertion of tie bars between the rampart and wall walk walls. The flagstones between unexcavated areas were also lifted and re-set. The portion of wall investigated consists of several building phases which are visible both above and below the wall walk. The repairs of the 1870s have further confused an already complicated picture which has not been simplified by the results of the excavations. The presence of areas of facing stone on the internal face of the rampart wall below the present wall walk level suggests that either a wall walk did not exist at those points or that it was at a lower level than the present one. No datable evidence was found however to suggest an original date for its construction. Beginning on 19th April 1995, York Archaeological Trust carried out a watching brief during excavations to facilitate repairs at Tower 35 on the City Walls, York. (NGR SE 6107 5154). The work consisted of the excavation of material beneath the walk-way surface of the tower to accommodate tie bars linking the rampart and walk-way walls.