Oldest streets in Yorkshire: History of the oldest streets in Yorkshire dating back hundreds of years including 11th and 12th century York streets Shambles and Micklegate and Park Row in Leeds

These historical streets are not just heritage sites and tourist attractions, some have even been filming locations for TV shows and films, with one also inspiring a famous fictional street in Harry Potter. Most of these streets have retained their original features, including Shambles in York.

History of the oldest streets in Yorkshire

Market Place, Beverley

The Market Place was built north of Beverley in the 13th century and was known as Saturday Market.

In 1269, a chapel was built on the street in honour of St Mary and became a parish church and Lord of the Manor of Beverley was the Archbishop of York at the time.

Shambles, York

The street has not directly been mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, however, two butchers who worked at stalls near the church of St Crux were identified in the book.

The church was owned by Count of Mortain, a Norman nobleman and half-brother of King William the Conqueror.

The rear side of the shops on Shambles were used as slaughterhouses and they were laid out this way, away from sunlight, so that the meat displayed could stay fresh for extended periods.

Many of the buildings have retained their original mediaeval built fabric with many of the buildings dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries and the street has been a major tourist attraction since the early 19th century.

High Street, Sheffield

The High Street has existed for as long as the city has been a settlement and the first ever record of its existence was published in the 12th century when it was written that Worksop Priory owned five principal properties on the north side of the street.

William de Lovetot, lord of Hampshire, founded the Priory in 1103 and the connections between the city and the Priory gave High Street the alternative name of Prior Gate until the late 18th century.

The street was also the original site for Sheffield Town Hall which was situated by the church gate.

Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, York

The famous street in York is known for its short length and quirky name.

St Crux Parish Hall, one of York’s mediaeval churches, originally backs onto it.

The street’s name was first recorded in 1505 as Whitnourwhatnourgate, and later appears as Whitney Whatneygate. The meaning of the name is thought to have been ‘neither-one-thing-nor-the-other’.

Abbey Lane, Whitby

Abbey Lane has been around since the foundation of Whitby Abbey, a seventh century monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey.

The abbey was first founded in 657 AD by the Anglo-Saxon era King of Northumbria, known at the time as Streoneshalh.

Micklegate, York

The name Micklegate means ‘Great Street’, ‘gate’ coming from the Old Norse gata, or street.

The street originated as part of a Roman road from Tadcaster to York, that ran through a civilian settlement in the Micklegate and Bishophill area, towards the fortress on the other bank of the Ouse.

It dates back to the Mediaeval era, when long burgage plots with narrow street frontages were situated and these still form the basis for some building structures.

By 1282, there were at least 118 ‘tofts’ on the street, and in 1586, William Camden, an antiquarian, historian, topographer and herald, described the street in Brittanica: “One gate named Micklegate Barre, the great gate from which a long and broad street reacheth to the bridge. The same street is beset with proper houses having gardens and orchards planted on either hand and behind them fields.”

Call Lane, Leeds

The first evidence of Call Lane’s existence can be traced back to 1557.

It is a long street that links Kirkgate to the bottom of lower Briggate.

Park Row, Leeds

There were 23 houses built on the east side of Park Row between 1767 and 1776 and in 1821, on a site on the west side of the street, Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society opened its Philosophical Hall with a lecture hall, library and museum.

From the 1860s through to the turn of the millennium, Park Row was a top business street, with the main banks, insurance companies and several other major financial and business hubs such as Pinsent Masons and Deloitte.

Since then, the street has expanded to include a mixture of businesses with a return of some residential occupiers and a range of bars and restaurants taking over banking halls and other ground floors.

New Briggate, Leeds

The name comes from brycg, the Old English word for bridge and gata, the Old Norse word for gate or a street.

Its foundation dates back to 1207 when Leeds became a borough. At the time, land on either side of the street was turned into 30 burgage plots for tradespeople to run their business.

By the end of the 13th century, the street developed as the commercial centre, fairs and markets were held there.

By the 17th century, the street was booming with shops, offices, workshops and houses and it retained its mediaeval street structure.

The Battle of Leeds took place along Briggate during the English Civil War in 1643.

Beverley Road, Hull

Beverley Road is one of several major roads that run out of the city of Hull and the road is known for being a major arterial route into and out of Hull.

The road has existed since 1305, when King Edward I built the radial routes into the port of Hull to effect free trade. The road was at least 18m wide and linked with the Beverley Gate on Whitefriargate, in the Old Town of Hull.