One of York’s most historic buildings has been damaged after it was hit by a lorry.
The truck ran into the corner of the medieval Lady Row houses on Goodramgate this morning (Wednesday).
It damaged the overhang on the building, home to The Old York Tearoom, and sent plasterwork falling onto the pavement.
Grade I listed Lady Row, on Goodramgate, dates from 1316 and is the earliest row of houses surviving in the city.
Historic England describe the structure as “some of the earliest urban vernacular building surviving in England”.
The collision today is far from the first. Lady Row has been damaged by a wagon before, as have ancient buildings on Low Petergate.
An historic lamppost near York Minster was knocked over by an HGV and cost more than £30K to repair.
That has led to calls for a traffic-free York – at least on certain days of the week.
And the owners of The Old York Tearoom certainly think the latest incident raises big questions. Tony and Thomas Vickers are currently locked in a battle with City of York Council after it demanded that they remove their painted signage on the café.
Tony and Thomas told YorkMix that the damage was done when one wagon was trying to manoeuvre around another during deliveries early this morning.
“This has happened before,” they said. “It seems York council are doing nothing to protect these heritage building and are more concerned by a lick of paint.
“Should large lorries be allowed down such small street – and if so what measures have York council put in place to protect these listed buildings?
“It’s ironic that this has happened while we are still struggling to keep our signage.”