History of St Saviour
Learn all about the history of St Saviour’s — from its origins as a church to its connection with York Archaeology and DIG.
The Early Church
DIG is located in an old church building. The first recorded name of the church on the site was ‘St Saviour in the Marsh’. It overlooked marshland at the edge of the River Foss to the south.The oldest surviving parts of the building are the ten corbels inside the tower, visible from the first floor. These corbels once adorned the outside of a 12th-century stone church. They are carved with human and animal faces.
Over time, the parish grew wealthy and attracted the support of rich families. Many of these families were either buried at the church or funded ‘chantry chapels’, where prayers were said for their souls. In 1986, archaeologists discovered two altar slabs and several medieval grave covers under the floor. You can still see these on site today.
Rebuilding and Changes
The church was rebuilt twice: once in the 15th century and again in 1844-45. In the early 20th century, the church was located next to one of York’s most notorious slums. The church became redundant in 1954 when its parish merged with that of All Saints, Pavement. At that time, the magnificent stained glass from the east window was transferred to All Saints, and much of the furniture was moved to All Saints and to Holy Trinity, Micklegate.
York Archaeology began its association with the church in 1975 when it acquired the building to store archaeological finds. In 1990, the church reopened as the Archaeological Resource Centre, an interactive companion to the hugely popular JORVIK Viking Centre. The site was relaunched as DIG in 2006.