This new report on excavations in the city of York focuses on three sites in the Coppergate area, close to the heart of the medieval town investigated between 1976 and 1982, and again in 1987, in advance of re-development. The report is introduced with a discussion of the site's history, previous study of this area and an outline of the methodology of the most recent research. The excavation also revealed the presence of four tenement plots attesting to improved housing and living conditions in the 12th to 14th century. Evidence from the medieval period traces the changing fortunes of the area from an up-and-coming residential part of town inhabited by the bourgeoisie to its decline from the 15th century onwards.