PART of one of York's oldest buildings has fallen into the street due to weathering.

The corner section of a 14th century property in Goodramgate, next to Holy Trinity Church, crumbled to the ground over the weekend, but no one was injured.

A street cleaner reported the damage to the building, which is now a shop, to City of York Council in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The store is empty, but is still leased by The Rubber Stamp Shop, which is now operating from a larger premises in Goodramgate.

It is part of Our Lady's Row, which dates back to 1316 and is likely to be the oldest row of buildings in York.

The shop, which is privately owned, had previously been damaged when hit by a lorry in February 2013.

There were suggestions that it had suffered a similar fate this time, but City of York Council believes the crumbling was due to the recent wet weather.

York Conservation Trust owns nearby 60 Goodramgate, which is also part of Our Lady's Row.

Chief executive Philip Thake said: "They are some of the oldest buildings in York, if not the oldest. No 60 is the oldest we own.

"We constantly review our buildings. A lot of problems these days are due to excessive rainfall.

"We have a our gutters cleaned at least every six months, for some of our properties it's every three months, because we find the ingress of water causes so much trouble.

"All these buildings have to be regularly looked after and cared for. That's what we are here for."

Our Lady's Row, which stands between Holy Trinity churchyard and Goodramgate, is made of plastered timber framing, but has been partly faced or rebuilt in brick.

A deed to build the properties, 128 feet long and 18 feet wide, on the churchyard was granted in 1316, the rents to be used to endow a chantry of the Blessed Virgin in the church.

In the late 16th century rental, they consisted of three cottages and one tenement let at 2s each, three tenements at 2s 4d each, one at 4s and one at 6s.