Stonegate

The street, leading from St Helen`s Square to Minster Gates at the
foot of the Minster,was originally the Via Pretroia of Roman York.
It led into the heart of the busy fortress which stood where the
cathedral now stands.

The street name comes from when the Minster was built and the great
stones were carted up from the river to the cathedral building site.
A tablet on the wall shows where Guy Fawkes spent much of his life.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Stonegate and it`s courtyards became
famous as the site of the earliest known York press, and the street
became renowned for it`s bookshops and printers.

Ye Olde Starre Inne is one of the oldest recorded pubs in the city
and the narrow passage, or snicket, from Stonegate to Grape Lane is
known as Coffe Yard. This is from the days when printers and
publishers would meet at a coffee house called The Saracen`s Head
which was situated in this historic and busy street.