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Old White Swan

Buildings and structures completed in the 1600sGoodramgateGrade II listed pubs in York
Old White Swan
Old White Swan

The Old White Swan is a pub in the city centre of York, in England. The core of the building is timber-framed and was constructed in the early-17th century. It lay at the back of a coaching yard on the north-western side of Goodramgate, but with another entrance on Low Petergate. Underneath a glass panel in the floor is part of a Roman column, although this is not its original location.The building was in use as an inn by 1703, making it the third-oldest pub in the city. In this period, part of the building lay in the parish of Holy Trinity King's Court, and part in the Holy Trinity Goodramgate parish. Both claimed the right to charge a rent for the pub, leading its landlord to paint a white line through the courtyard and kitchen, demarcating the boundary, and providing a justification for him to pay only partial rent to each parish. In 1723, the local constables decided to watch for possible Catholic activity in the pub, and spent £1 at the business while doing so — a substantial sum for the period. In 1742, the pub was renamed as the "White Swan and Sandhill", but the suffix was dropped again in 1786. Brick extensions were added to either side of the original building in the early- and mid-18th century, and the frontage on Goodramgate was rebuilt in 1771, following which this became the principal entrance, with the one on Petergate eventually closed. The side wings were not initially used as part of the inn, but had uses including a barber shop, pigsty and hayloft. The courtyard was occasionally used to host a poultry market, while the pub hosted events including a display of Patrick Cotter O'Brien, claimed as the world's tallest man, and an attempt by a man to eat ten pounds of tripe.In the late-18th and early-19th century, the inn was the starting point for several stagecoach routes, including one to Glasgow via Durham and Newcastle, and shorter ones to Easingwold and Helperby. A mounting block in the courtyard survives from this period. John Ward Knowles painted a stained glass sign for the pub in 1846, variations on which have been its logo since. In 1885, the pub was renamed as the "Old White Swan", to emphasise its long history.In 1971, the pub was grade II listed. A tradition holds that the pub is haunted by the ghosts of a group of Catholics planning an escape to France, who are said to rearrange chairs in a circle and relight a fire overnight.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Old White Swan (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Old White Swan
Goodramgate, York Bishophill

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.9606 ° E -1.0803 °
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Address

Cube Attic Lounge

Goodramgate
YO1 7LF York, Bishophill
England, United Kingdom
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Old White Swan
Old White Swan
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Holy Trinity Church, King's Court

Holy Trinity Church, King's Court, also known as Christ Church, was a parish church in the city centre of York, in England. The church was first recorded in 1268. It was largely or wholly rebuilt in the 14th century, with a nave, north and south aisles, and a 60-foot high tower, and there were further additions in the 15th century. From the 1410s, it was linked with St Michael's Hospital in Well. Although it was a small church, it had at least five chantries in the Mediaeval period.In 1767, two of the church's chantry chapels were demolished in order to enlarge the neighbouring hay market in what became King's Square. Also in the 1760s, the church's stained glass was removed. Located at a busy junction, at the top of The Shambles, the church became regarded as an impediment to traffic; in 1818, William Hargrove noted that several people had been killed coming around the narrow and sharp corner of the church, and he proposed demolishing the eastern end. In 1829, a triangular part on the east side of the church was demolished, in order that Colliergate could be widened. The demolitions did not resolve the church's issues, and in the 1850s, Sotheran's Guide stated that "the building has been several times curtailed, and if it was altogether removed there would be no loss of architectural beauty, and a great increase to public convenience".In 1861, the church was rebuilt, in a Decorated style design, by Rawlins Gould. Only the east wall was retained from the old church, but the new church had the same plan, with the additions of north and south porches, and a vestry. In 1877, the church's plate was melted down, to produce new plate.Due to its declining congregation, its parish was merged with that of St Sampson's Church in 1886, and the church soon became disused. By 1896, it was used to house sheep on their way to slaughter. The furnishings were removed to St Mary Bishophill Junior, and St Everilda's Church, Nether Poppleton. However, the large clock on its tower was maintained.In 1937, the church was demolished, allowing King's Square to be further enlarged. Part of the square is paved with 19 gravestones from the church's cemetery.

64 and 66 Low Petergate
64 and 66 Low Petergate

64 and 66 Low Petergate is a grade II* listed building, in the city centre of York, in England. The building lies on Low Petergate, which has long been one of the major streets in York city centre. The oldest part of the building is the south-east wing, which dates from the 15th century. This was part of a house which was owned by the Talbot family in the 16th century, and they added a two-storey structure on the north-east side of the wing, which has been reduced over time to a small, single-storey section. In the 17th century, the neighbouring 62 Low Petergate became the Talbot Inn, one of the main coaching inns in the city, and it may have extended into what is now 64 and 66 Low Petergate. The 15th-century walls were mostly rebuilt, and a new staircase was added, now known as the Talbot Stairs, and a new wing was added to the north-west. All this section of the building is timber-framed, and has been heavily restored. In 1743, the front of the building was rebuilt. The new front was three storeys high, and five bays wide. The upper floor windows survive, as does the top of a drainpipe, dated 1743, two fireplaces, a door, and two staircases. The ground floor has been replaced with 20th-century plate glass shopfronts.In the 20th century, the building formed part of the York College for Girls. This closed in 1997, and the building was restored in 2007. The front part of its ground floor serves as two shops, while the upper floors are residential.

St Trinity House
St Trinity House

St Trinity House is an historic series of four buildings in the English city of York, North Yorkshire. Grade II listed and forming the southern end of King's Square, parts of the structures date to the early 18th century, with alterations occurring over the next two hundred years. Their addresses today range from 3 to 4A King's Square. The Duke of York pub is at numbers 3 and 4; and the current use of 4A, the oldest building in the range, is not known, although people signed up for The Ghost Hunt of York are asked to meet beside it. The only rendered front of the four, it adjoins 1 The Shambles to form an L-shape at the southwestern corner of the square. In the early 20th century, both buildings were the home of G. Ackroyd Furniture Stores.In 1430, the site was occupied by shops by the name of Le Mercery and by a building known as Hellekeld (the dark well). These were believed to be a precursor to Pump Court.Three of the buildings are 20th-century remodels of 15th-century (or earlier) structures, one of which was altered in the 17th century, while two were rebuilt in the early part of the 18th century. The other one is a 20th-century structure. Each 15th-century structure retains its timberframing.The first floor of 4A is jettied towards Newgate and retains its dragon beam on that corner. (The first building at what appears to be the beginning of Newgate is actuallly 5 and 6 King's Court.) The buildings were in the shadow of Holy Trinity Church (for which the building is named), which stood immediately to the north in what was then King's Court, between the 15th century and the church's demolition in 1937.