The Norman House

About

The Norman House is a grade I listed building and scheduled monument in the city centre of York, in England. Although in ruins, it has been described as "York's oldest house", dating from the 12th century. The building was constructed in the late 12th century, about 14 metres to the north of the street of Stonegate.

Although the area had been occupied in the Roman Eboracum period, it had been abandoned. It is believed that it was open ground until new building plots were laid out under the influence of the clergy of York Minster, as it lay within the Liberty of St Peter. While many of the new buildings were tenements, others were impressive houses, several of which were used by religious office-holders.

The Norman House was a two-storey structure, built of Magnesian Limestone, and based on surviving walls, each floor measured at least 11 feet by 6. The ground floor undercroft had three pillars, supporting the upper storey. This was probably an open hall, and it was lit by windows to the south-west.

The York Civic Trust speculates that the house may originally have been built as the house of a Jewish financier. The Jews in York were massacred in 1190, and by the time the house...