St. Olave's stands within the Bootham district, on the western side of the city centre. St Olave's church is believed to have been founded by Earl Siward, a Danish warrior whose defeat of Macbeth is recorded by Shakespeare. Before the Norman Conquest the area outside the city walls now known as Museum Gardens was called 'Earlsborough'. It was a residence of the nobility, like Siward, who governed northern England at the time. There is evidence in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle that when Siward died in 1055 he was buried on this site. After the Norman Conquest of 1066 St Olave’s became the church of the Benedictine order in York. In 1008 the monks built a much larger abbey and church, dedicated to St Mary, on adjoining land. The shape of the present St Olave's really dates from 1446 when major rebuilding took place. In 1644, during the Civil War, the church tower was used as a gun platform in the Siege of York and the building was badly damaged. Stone from the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey was used to repair and rebuild the church in the early 18th century. The church was enlarged again early in the 20th century. York's famous artist, William Etty, is buried in the graveyard; his grave can be seen through the wall of the ruined St Mary's Abbey church. St Olave's is still a lively parish church.

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