by 1701, the conditions of the county jail had become scandalous and the decision was taken to redevelop the area occupied by the old bailey. a local tax helped to fund the development, and the king agreed for the ruins of st mary's abbey to be cannibalised for building stone. three new buildings were erected to the south of clifford's tower. a new county jail, built between 1701 and 1705 by william wakefield, was placed on the south side, closely resembling the fashionable work of john vanbrugh. the local architect john carr then built the assize courts on the site of the old jury house between 1773 and 1777 on the west side, and oversaw the replacement of the sessions house and common hall by the female prison between 1780 and 1783 on the east side. the female prison and county jail were later combined to become the debtors' prison. both of carr's buildings were designed in a distinctive neoclassical style; the assize court building was particularly praised at the time as being "a superb building of the ionic order". the castle courtyard was grassed over to form a circle in 1777 and became known as the "eye of the ridings" because it was used for the election of members of parliament for york.