Precentor's Court

Precentor's Court is a historic street in the English city of York. Although certainly in existence by 1313, the street does not appear on a map until 1610, and it is not given a name (Precentor's Lane) until 1722. It was given its current name exactly a century later. It is a cul-de-sac, running northwest from High Petergate at the western end of York Minster, in front of which the road apexes. A snickelway, known as Little Peculiar Lane, cuts through to the street, at its western end, from High Petergate. The frontages on High Petergate were developed with commercial properties for letting. A new lane, today's Precentor's Court, was developed, dividing these commercial properties from the canons' residences to the rear. Around 1540, the marble and stone bases of two shrines in the Minster were dismantled and buried in what is now Precentor's Court. One was later exhumed during construction work and is now preserved in the Yorkshire Museum. The street was home to St Stephen's orphanage from 1870 to 1872, when it moved to Trinity Lane.