The Burton Stone and St. Mary Magdelene Hospital, York bronze plaque

This bronze commemorative plaque records: The Burton Stone. This stone, first recorded in 1575 and named after the local Burton family, is believed to be the base of a cross which formed a city boundary marker after the dissolution of the nearby St. Mary Magdelene Hospital. During York's worst bout of plague in 1604-05, when a third of its citizens died, people placed money, immersed in vinegar in the hollows, to safely pay outsiders for food or other goods.

The Burton Stone, originally part of a city boundary marker, gained historical significance during York's 1604-1605 plague outbreak when it was used for contactless transactions to minimize disease spread.