The street is believed to follow the line of a Roman road leading south-east out of Eboracum.

There is no evidence of occupation in the Anglian period, but in Scandinavian Jorvik, it was fully built up, mostly for industrial and commercial uses.

In the Medieval period, it fell within the parish of St Crux, and that church was sometimes regarded as lying on the street, although it was entered from Pavement.

In 1295, the York Carmelite Friary was built to the east of the street, and it was entered from a gateway near the Pavement end of Fossgate.

On the south-west side lie 35 Fossgate, built in about 1815 as the King's Arms; the tiny Blue Bell pub; 55-56 Fossgate, built in 1796; and the 17th-century gatehouse to the Merchant Adventurer's Hall, with the hall itself hidden behind.