York Historic Environment Record

The principal remains identified at the YET site comprise the 1841 ‘straight’ Engine Shed, the 1850/1852 couplet of roundhouses (RH1 and RH2), with an associated freestanding octagonal office building, and the 1864 individual roundhouse (RH3). As highlighted in the ARMP, the three roundhouses at the YET site are a rare, if not unique, survival of a triplet of such buildings in the UK. Given the excellent state of preservation and substantial completeness of below-ground fabric of RH2 and RH3, as demonstrated by the investigations, it is concluded that these archaeological remains, along with those of the 1841 Engine Shed, are of, at least, regional significance. The general association of York’s rail development with visionary railway entrepreneur George Hudson, and the more specific relationship, through NER architect Thomas Prosser, between the 1864 structure, RH3, and the magnificent current York Station, can only be considered to compound the importance of the remains.