Time Travel: Davy Hall

Join us as we venture back in time. No pushing, okay?

This month… Davy Hall

If you’ve ever been fed up by all the talk of the royals, from weddings to new babies, think about your poor ancestors. Centuries ago the monarch had the power to do a lot more than bore us – they could help themselves to your food and lock you up in their own special prison.

If you’ve never heard of Davy Hall, we don’t blame you. The building itself has been gone from our streets for almost 300 years… kinda. Davygate not only played host to the infamous building it but also took its name from the family who ran it.

Blame the Normans

Following the Norman Conquest of York in 1069, and the bloody ‘Harrying of the North’, the new rulers established a few harsh laws in our fair city.

The first was that the huge Forest of Galtres, which lay to the north of the city and was the source of much of our timber, was now the King’s. Basically, if lowly Yorkies hunted in the forest, as they had done for centuries prior, they were now essentially pinching from the King. So they’d go to jail.

Also, to ensure that the King had plenty of food when he visited York, he needed someone to gather some up from the city and keep it in a locked larder. The Lardiner, a role established in the 1130s, was responsible for such a task, and had first dibs on all the produce being sold in York’s markets. Oh, and he could take whatever he wanted without paying. So not a popular chap.

The Daves

The first recorded Lardier of York was called David. So was his son who took over the role after him… and his son after that. This sequence of Davids in the role of Lardiner resulted in the larder itself being known as Davy Hall. The hall sat on the present-day corner of Davygate and New Street, giving the Lardiner quick access to the popular Thursday Market, now St Sampson’s Square.

The hall itself would have been an impressively large structure that was very secure. Part of the reason for this was because it was built up against the original surviving Roman fortress wall and permanently guarded. The intention was to constantly have a large amount of fresh meat, fish and bread, just in case the ruling monarch happened to call by.

Oh no, it’s the bloody Lardiner!

So when this legal thief came to the market, stall holders and traders knew they would have to give him exactly what he wanted, and for absolutely no money. The cheek! It was for that very reason that multiple times throughout the life of the position, the Lardiner’s powers were challenged in the courts.

In a legal battle of 1168, the Lardiner – David, obviously – not only argued that he could take what he wanted from the forest, but also from the market. He was…

“…to receive of every Baker who sells Bread there every Saturday, a Halfpenny loaf, or a Halfpenny; and of every Brewer of Ale there, that sells any Ale, a Gallon Flagon of the best Ale, or the Value of it…”

…and so much more. Note that if the trader couldn’t provide the produce they had to provide the value instead. The nerve!

Banged up

As well as being a huge food store (food, we assume, that would often go uneaten and wasted) Davy Hall was also a prison. If you were caught poaching in the forest of Galtres you were locked up in the Lardiner’s own personal gaol. As the hall was property of the crown, the city corporation had absolutely no jurisdiction over it and of the punishments dealt out to the poor poachers.

There was some justice in 1253 following another legal challenge, this time by Lord Mayor of York John de Selby. It was decided that the King’s Lardiner could no longer take provision from the city markets but could still fine and imprison poachers. Clearly this began a decline in the fortunes of Davy Hall, as by 1427 it lay in ruins.

Demolition

The hall did last a lot longer than it had any right to, however. In the 17^th century it was converted into tenements – still with the Roman walls as part of their structure. But by 1729 the city corporation wanted to improve access for carriages, especially for those heading to the new Assembly Rooms up the road in Blake street.

Davy Hall was torn down and part of the land was used for a very special reason. The churchyard of St Helen’s Church was relocated to a spot of land where the hall once stood – today the open square next to Caffe Nero – while the original yard was paved over – now St Helen’s Square next to Betty’s.

So the next time you yawn at the front page of a newspaper given over to a picture of Princess Charlotte looking cute, just be thankful she isn’t demanding any of your food.

Not at the moment, anyway.