Layerthorpe

Layerthorpe is a former industrial district to the north-east of the centre of the City of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is just outside the city walls of York.

History

After William the Conquerer created a dam in the River Foss in 1069 in order to create a moat around York Castle, the river flooded in the Layerthorpe area, forming a large lake that would become known as the "King's Pool" (or "King's Fishpool"). The King's Pool became an integral part of the city's defences during the Middle Ages - this explains the absence of defensive wall in the area today - and was well-known for its abundance of fish.

The fourteenth-century Layerthorpe Bridge, a crossing of the Foss, adjacent to the King's Pool, was once attached to a postern in the city wall, known as Layerthorpe Postern. In 1829, the bridge was rebuilt, and the Postern and a short section of wall were demolished. In 1926, the bridge was widened again, and in the 1990s it was completely rebuilt on a different alignment.

Layerthorpe bridge led to the village of Layerthorpe on the road from York to the suburb of Heworth. There was a medieval church (St. Mary's, Layerthorpe), which was built about a hundred yards from the bridge in the fourteenth century or earlier. The parish was united with that of St. Cuthbert's, Peasholme Green, in 1586, and the church has disappeared.

Meanwhile, the King's Pool declined, as silt from upriver collected and there was not enough water coming down to move it on. In the eighteenth century, the waters were so low that marshy islands had begun to appear, giving the area the additional name of Foss Islands, and during the summer months the river smelled foul and was mostly dry and stagnant. At the end of the century, the Foss was canalised and the Pool disappeared. In 1854, the area was drained and Foss Islands Road (now part of the York Inner Ring Road) was constructed between Layerthorpe Bridge and Walmgate Bar.

In 1824, the York Gas Light Company began production on a site between Layerthorpe and Monkgate. This was expanded in 1885, and a siding from the Foss Islands Branch Line was constructed to serve it. The Branch Line had been opened in 1880 to serve the cattle-market at Walmgate Bar and to provide facilities for freight traffic, including deliveries of coal and, later, sand for bottle-making, on the eastern side of the city.

On Foss Islands Road, just south of Layerthorpe Bridge, York Corporation built a power station and refuse destructor in the 1890s, again with sidings off the Branch Line.

External links

• Victoria County History page with details of St. Mary's Church