HISTORY OF YORK

The Ghostly Pub Trail

York is full of ghost stories; some of them give

Start at Bootham Bar The famous sign across the road has been there
since 1733, the terms of the agreement included a
The northern entrance to the city, on the Great rental being paid to the property on the opposite
North Road, Bootham Bar is the only gate that still side of the street, the money paid then had to be
stands on the site of a previous Roman one. Parts spent in the company of the landlord of the pub.
of the current structure date from the 11th century.
Two upper storeys were added in the 14th century The Star has been known under various spellings
and the late 19th century. and abbreviations of the current name, the current
spelling using Ye is not a mock old English spelling, it
The Bar was threatened with total demolition in uses a Saxon rune in place of ‘th’, but is pronounced
1832 but saved by public outcry, although it lost its the same. The old star it refers to is said to be King
barbican (a walled enclosure to an outer gate). It Charles I, reflecting the Royalist leanings of the
is reputedly haunted by a contemporary ghost of a landlord in the 1640s.
man in modern polo shirt and shorts.
On leaving the pub, turn right until, over the road, is:
Go through the Bar and carry on up High
Petergate, about 100 metres up on the left is: Punch Bowl Inn, Stonegate
York Arms A Punch Bowl in Stonegate is mentioned during the
Siege of York in 1644, but there is no proof that it
This former Georgian Chapter Coffee House is stood on this site. Part of the present Punch Bowl
allegedly haunted by one of York’s several grey was built in 1675 but the oldest parts inside can’t
ladies, said by some to be a nun. Former landlords be easily viewed, and the present frontage was built
and their families – mostly the men - have seen a in the 1930s. It is one of the many York pubs that
floating grey mist, floating bellows and other small boast a selection of ghost stories.
objects, locked doors opened and open doors shut.
The first story told of a former landlord who was
The pub is named after the city’s coat of arms. The killed in a fire, his spirit still walks down the cellar
arms date from 1587 when the Lord Mayor received steps, despite them having since been moved. He
them, drawn on parchment, from the Queen’s follows the route of the ones he remembers and
Herald of Arms. They contain the red cross of St disappears into the floor.
George, suggesting York’s religious connections, and
five gold lions of England, emphasising its strong
The pub also has a grey lady, reputed to be a
support of English royalty.
woman who committed suicide after her lover
In heraldic terms, the five lions are ‘passant’, cheated on her, she is said to have come back
meaning that they are walking, and ‘guardant’, looking for her unfaithful man.
meaning their heads are turned to face the viewer.
They are active and aware! The third ghost is another young woman, and there
are two theories as to who she is. One story is that
Leaving the pub, turn left towards the city centre. she’s was strangled by a drunk in the 18th century
Continue to the right of St Michael-le-Belfrey after she rejected his advances. She still runs from
Church. About 100 metres up the road take the room to room trying to evade him. At the time, the
right turn into the cobbled Stonegate. Head for the pub reputedly was a brothel, although there is no
banner over the street that marks the entrance to: proof of this. The other version is that she was a
barmaid beaten to death in the 16th century, again
Ye Olde Starre Inne trying to evade her murderer she runs around the
pub, a pub wasn’t even built at the time!
A Royalist officer haunts this pub, from 1644 when
the pub was a field hospital in the English Civil War.
Described as imposing figure, he wears a beaver
hat, smart breeches and doublet, and stands in a
commanding pose. He shares his ‘billet’ with two
black cats. The cats are said to upset any dogs in
the pub; their bodies are reputedly buried in the
large pillar in the bar. Finally, there have been
occasional reports of an old lady climbing the stairs,
seen only by children.

A contender for the oldest pub and most haunted

Cross over to: On leaving the pub, turn left and walk to the end
of Lendal. Turn right onto Museum Street and
The Yorkshire Terrier about 100 metres up on the right is:
A girl is supposed to haunt the cellar of this pub,
reputedly the daughter of a prostitute from the
Thomas’s Hotel
Punch Bowl across the road.
Late at night strange things have been reported in
here: at the top of the building is a function room,
In this area is a house where Laurence Sterne, the
which has a strange cold air current running through
author of the novel ‘Tristam Shandy’, stayed for a
it. It passes the double doors in to the room where
while. The locals told him a ghost story, explaining
it would appear the furniture holds unearthly
why he could hear banging in the house next door,
parties of its own: the chairs and tables up here
every night just after midnight.
have been seen moving about on their own, and
ghostly figures seen wandering the staircases.
The story went that a previous occupant was an
old man who lived in fear of robbers. Every night,
Reports of hauntings seem to have increased since
after the Minster bells tolled midnight, he thought
the disappearance of a pair of ballet shoes which
it would frighten any robbers off if he banged his
used to be in a glass case on the wall.
walking stick on the wall near his bed several times.
After his death, his ghost continued to scare off
At the time, the pub was covered in show bills as
the burglars.
many of the regulars were connected to the Theatre
Royal, across the way. It was 1744 when the first
On leaving the pub, turn right in to St Helen’s
playhouse was built on the site of the present
Square. Cross it heading for the far right corner.
theatre. It was enlarged 20 years later to seat 550
Pass by Harkers and cross the road in to the
and has seen various improvements since and now
cobbled alleyway leading to:
seats 1400.
Lendal Cellars The theatre and all the other buildings opposite
This pub, in the Lord Mayor’s former wine cellars, Thomas’s Hotel sit over and around the ruins of the
stands on monastic land. From about 1272 this site massive medieval hospital called St Leonard’s. This
was home to the Austin Friars. The Friary was around was the largest hospital in the north of England,
35-members strong and had a famous library of a religious order that cared for the bodies and
more than 2000 works on theology, philosopy and souls of the sick and dying. Like the Austin Friary,
science. In 1538 the monastery became one of the St Leonard’s was abolished during Henry VIII’s
many institutions dissolved by King Henry VIII. reformation of the church.
Glimpses of ghostly figures have been reported by
On leaving this last stop: turn right towards York
visitors in the lower seating area; when they turn
Minster for a taxi rank, turn right and then first left,
their head to look, the figures have vanished.
for another taxi rank and Bootham Bar, turn left
and over the river to head towards York Station.