Coppergate Shopping Centre
LocationYork, North Yorkshire, England
Coordinates53°57′28″N 1°04′50″W / 53.95778°N 1.08056°W / 53.95778; -1.08056
Opening date1984[1]
No. of stores and services19[2]
Websitecoppergateshoppingcentre.co.uk

Coppergate Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in York in North Yorkshire, England. It is named after Coppergate, one of York's medieval streets ("gate" coming from the Old Norse gata, or street).[3]

History

Prior to the development of the shopping centre, archaeologists started digging on the site, which had been the Cravens confectionery factory.[4] Between 1976–81, York Archaeological Trust unearthed remains of 10th-century Viking-age buildings from the Viking city of Jorvik. The remains lay in moist, spongy layers of earth similar to a peat bog. The damp conditions had helped to preserve everyday Viking items such as wood, leather, cloth, bugs and even a Viking toilet and its contents. Over 40,000 objects were uncovered by excavating 36,000 layers and sieving eight tonnes of soil.

When the extent and importance of the discoveries at Coppergate were realised, plans were made to allow permanent display of the remains of Jorvik within the excavation area. York Archaeological Trust created the Jorvik Viking Centre which opened to the public in April 1984.[5] The exhibits in the Centre are based on evidence unearthed during the Coppergate excavations.

Redevelopment plans

In 2001 developers launched a £60 million development scheme entitled 'Coppergate II' to redevelop the centre, including demolition of the existing centre and a new build project with shops either side of the River Foss. Retailers set to anchor the scheme included a new enlargened Debenhams and others. However the reaction from the public was negative and a petition was launched, this prompted a public inquiry and in September 2003 the scheme was turned down by the government.[6] The level of opposition was due to some of parts of the shopping centre being in extremely close proximity to Clifford's Tower.[7]

Centre information

The shopping centre houses many shops, cafes and museums, including the Jorvik Viking Centre. Owned by La Salle Investment Management since February 2008,[8] the centre is an open-air shopping promenade with covered walkways, and large public squares with fountains and planting beds, set with seats and coffee shops. Also included is St Mary's Church, which now displays modern art. This outdoor area is used to host brass bands, theatre productions and other events from York's many festivals.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Investment Property Information.Major Property Holdings" (PDF). Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Coppergate". www.coppergateshoppingcentre.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  3. ↑ Ross G. Arthur, "English-Old Norse Dictionary", In Parentheses, 2001
  4. ↑ "Records from Cravens add missing ingredient to York's sweet story". University of York. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Coppergate Dig". 2006 York Archaeological Trust. 2006. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "BBC News - England - North Yorkshire - £60m Coppergate shops plan rejected". BBC News. 10 September 2003. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  7. ↑ "York Castle Clifford's Tower threatened by City of York Council". Demonstration against Coppergate II. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  8. ↑ Laycock, Mike (6 February 2008). "New owners take over York's Coppergate Centre". York Press. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Shops". Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  10. ↑ Dodd, George (23 August 2019). "Coppergate Centre to host music and magic at summer spectacular". York Press. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
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