Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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In 1735, a glassworks had been established on Marygate, but soon failed due to lack of business. Undeterred, John Prince established a glass making industry in 1794, on three acres of pasture land in Fishergate known as 'Scutt's Close' (Spence n.d., 3; YCA Redfearn Deeds). Wilson (1954/5, 3) mentions the division of land on the west side of Fishergate into two fields: Scutt Close to the north, and Stone Wall Close to the south, separated by a stone wall. The initial establishment therefore appears to have been confined to land to the north of the upstanding northern wall of the priory. To the south, the area appears to be undeveloped. Hargrove's (1818) reference to the presence of a well 'in a field' suggests open, and for much of the 18th and 19th century, it seems likely that much of Stone Wall Close would have been fields or orchards.
In 1835, the York Flint Glass Company was established by Joseph Spence, and the firm is known to have expanded from this period onwards. The company specialised in the production of accurate measures for medieval and pharmaceutical companies. In 1851, Sir William Eden of Durham conveyed a 14 year lease to Spence, Meek and Wilson of York of:
'all that messuage, dwelling houses or tenement with the Icehouse, stables, out offices gardens and yard belonging thereto and now in the occupation of Thomas Harrison. And also all that close or parcel of land wherein the said dwellinghouse stables and buildings are standing called or known by the name of St Georges or Glass House field situated in the Parish of St Lawrence in the city of York and containing with the garden yard and homestead 5 acres (be the same more or less) bounded by the highroad between York and Fulford on the east on a messuage and garden belonging to My John Waite and on a lane leading to the Rivers Ouse and Foss to the south by the said River Foss and by a glass manufactory and premises late belonging to John Prince Esq. and now to the said James Meek, Joseph Spence and George Wilson on or towards the north and now in the occupation of George Wilson'
(YCA Redfearn Deeds)
The associated plan shows this to refer to all of Stone Wall close, right to the lane, excluding a small property at the junction of Fishergate and Blue Bridge Lane. Although the land comprising 'Stone Wall Close' is known to have been conveyed to the proprietors of the glass works, it does not appear that the entire property was built upon, and the land was subsequently sold on (Ordnance Survey 1909).
The glassworks became a limited company in 1918, and a modernising programme was undertaken until 1923, at which date the site closed down, and the land to the south (presumably Stone Wall Close) was sold off. Part of this land was subsequently used as the site of a new cinema and a working men's club (Wilson 1954/5, 5, 14). The firm continued production on the northern site after 1929 (having been bought by National Glass Works in 1930) and in 1954/5, Wilson wrote about the future of the company with optimism. A reference has been made to construction on the priory site in 1958; however, this is not referred to in the Redfearn documents (YCA). Increased production in post-war years created problems, since the limited size of the site was restrictive; a new warehousing complex was then constructed in Tadcaster (YCA Redfearn deeds) A photograph in the brochure for the Redfearn National Glass Ltd. (post-1974; YCA Redfearn Deeds) shows the whole of the site to the north of Blue Bridge Lane built up, whether by factory buildings or other structures.
The first bridge over the Foss at its confluence with the Ouse, known as 'Browney Dyke' was built in 1738. The wooden drawbridge was painted blue, giving the lane its current name; this was replaced by a stone bridge in 1768 (Tillott 1961, 520). The route to the bridge, and the river, down the route of Blue Bridge Lane would have been increasingly used following the laying out of New Walk. The planting of trees along the riverside avenue began in 1732 (Tillott 1961, 207), and continued through the remainder of the century, with much of the work being undertaken between c. 1749 and 1752 (Pevsner 1972, 158).
The current bridge is the fifth replacement, and was constructed in 1929 (Tillott 1961, 520). In 1858, two guns seized from Sebastopol were erected close to the bridge; these were removed in 1941 and scrapped as part of the war effort.
During the early 19th century, this seems to have become a fashionable residential area, and a number of properties were constructed on Blue Bridge Lane and Fishergate. The plan accompanying the deed between William Eden and Messrs Wilson, Meek and Spence depicts Stone Wall Close, and properties which had, presumably recently, been erected on Blue Bridge Lane. Mr Waite's property, mentioned in the deed, occupies a small parcel of land at the junction of Fishergate and Blue Bridge Lane, apparently fronting onto the former. Adjacent to this property is another house and appurtenances, lying within a strip of land stretching towards the river, and apparently part of the land to be conveyed to the new lessees (YCA Redfearn Deeds). This would correlate with the messuage 'with icehouse, stables and out offices' mentioned in William Eden's deed and belonging to Thomas Harrison. The Ordnance Survey edition of 1852 depicts this house in more detail; the Ice House is labelled, as is a courtyard pump. It appears that the property was accessed via a lane leading past Mr Waite's property to the north; this small area was subsequently enclosed (Ordnance Survey 1909). The strip of land along Blue Bridge Lane leading to the Foss is shown to be divided into parcels, and appears to be given over to gardens (or orchards?) (Ordnance Survey 1852).
By the 1892, the Glass works had encroached onto the northern part of Stone Wall Close, almost to a point opposite the junction of Fishergate and Fawcett Street, though the remainder remains open. The property with the Ice House is marked as 'Freshfield Cottage'; the Ice House itself is shown as a mound, retained by a wall to the east. The property previously owned by Mr Waite is altered considerably, and one of the several properties now occupying the site is labelled as Post Office.
During the same period of the early 19th century, Fishergate house was constructed and described as the grandest, and largest house, to be erected at this time. Fishergate House was built in 1837 for Thomas Laycock, 'about whom no information has come to light apart from the bare records of his death' (RCHM 1975, liv). Little is known of the previous use of this plot of land; structures are apparent on the 18th century 'prospect', but little remains in historical records.
The house was designed by Messrs J.B. and W. Atkinson, grandsons of John Carr's partner Peter Atkinson, and is described as a 'severe building of grey gault brick' (RCHM 1975, liv). The house has noted parallels in houses in Cambridge, and a number of its features, both external and internal, are mirrored in smaller houses on Bootham and Monkgate (RCHM 1975, liv). The internal arrangements are said to have drawn inspiration from John Soane's plan for Tyringham (RCHM 1975, liv, 71).
The structure, which mainly comprises two storeys but in parts three, included a stable courtyard to the north, which is depicted cartographically to have bordered on Blue Bridge Lane. The lane at this point was substantially narrower than today. To the north, the house appears to have had extensive grounds, with a path leading around the perimeter, and a summer house. Cartographic evidence, suggests that most of the grounds had become terraced streets and the stable block had been removed prior to 1892, at which point the current width of the Blue Bridge Lane would have been consolidated; the cellars of the building are likely to have destroyed any archaeological features within the area.
The building has been put to various uses; in the 1870s or 1880s, the building was taken over for use by the Ordnance Survey. In 1880 a school was opened by the Girls Public Day School Company in Fishergate House, and a kindergarten was added in 1891, prior to the school moving to High Petergate (Tillott 1961, 459, 542)
A cinema was later established on Fishergate, on the site of Blue Bridge Lane development. The cinema was showing films as early as 1909/1910 (City Screen Info Board, Tillott 1961 27), which suggests that this parcel at least must have been sold off before 1923, unless it was part of land held by Waite. In 1914, the cinema was renamed the City Picture House, which in 1920s became the Casino under Lloyd Forsyth (City Screen Info Board). The York Oral History Project (YOHP) has recorded a considerable amount of information on memories of the cinemas of York. Mr Reg Lambert (YOHP 1988, 15) recalled that, as a child at Fishergate School, presumably in the 1920s, the site was occupied by a 'smallish cinema in front, with a roller skating rink at the back'. The proprietor of this business was John Fabier Prenderghast, who had come from Leeds in the 1920s and owned the Casino as it was. In 1923, the Casino went up in flames, watched by Reg Lambert and his friends from the school, and was rebuilt by Prenderghast almost immediately 'as a brick built effort…in 1928, 1929' (YOHP 1988, 15). The new cinema, named the Rialto, remained as it was until 1935 when it, too, burnt down. The cinema was rebuilt to a design by York architect Frederick Dyer, in just 15 weeks, to be reopened on 25th November 1935 by B. Seebohm Rowntree (City Screen Info Board). The cinema continued to show films and live music; entertainment included music by Louis Armstrong, Frankie Vaughan, Johnny Mathis, Gracie Fields and The Beatles (City Screen Info Board). The films continued through the war years, with Sunday night showings for the forces (YOHP 1988, 15), and until 1961, when the cinema was sold to Mecca Bingo, and closed on 15th October of that year (City Screen Info Board).
apc > monographs > blue bridge lane & fishergate house > historical & archaeological background: post-medieval
