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Paranormal York Ghost Hunting Events - The Hauntings and History of York, York (2024)

28/02/2024

Welcome to our Page!

This Page is owned by Clare Louise Bryant, who also owns Paranormal York Ghost Hunting Events. We hope you like the new design and look forward to bringing you more interesting information about our incredible city.

14/02/2023

t h e | d a r k | o r i g i n s | o f | v a l e n t i n e ‘ s | d a y

Valentine's Day is a time to celebrate romance and love 💕 But the origins of this festival of chocolate and cupids are actually dark, bloody and a bit muddled.

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them. From February 13th-14th, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed goats and dogs, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain. Young women would line up for the men to hit them as they believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be coupled up for the duration of the festival or longer, if the match was right.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men - both named Valentine - on 14th February, of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine's Day.

Later, Pope Gelasius I muddled things in the 5th century by combining St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the pagan rituals. But the festival was more of a theatrical interpretation of what it had once been. It was a little more of a drunken revel, but the Christians put clothes back on it. That didn't stop it from being a day of fertility and love.

This drawing depicts the death of St. Valentine. Well, one of them 😏 ~ Happy day of love, everyone 🥰🥰🥰

03/01/2023

R A F C l i f t o n M o o r | york

Clifton airfield (also known as RAF Clifton, RAF York, RAF Rawcliffe, York Municipal Aerodrome and Clifton Moor airfield) opened on 4th July 1936 as a civilian airfield, serving the city of York. The field actually had a longer history with aviation, as three years prior it had been used by an air circus, demonstrating the fields suitability for a commercial airfield. The grounds were bought by the York Corporation in 1934 with just that purpose in mind.

The airfield was taken over by the RAF at the outbreak of war in September 1939 and used as a relief landing ground for RAF Linton-on-Ouse. In December 1939 the airfield came under Army Co-operation Command. Westland Lysanders were stationed with 4 Sqn in August 1940.

In 1941 a complete RAF Station was built at the southeast side, and further in this direction living sites were built with accommodation for 500 personnel. Three concrete runways were built also, to facilitate a Halifax heavy bomber repair unit (No.48 Maintenance Unit) at the airfield. A major air strike by the Luftwaffe badly damaged the airfield in April 1942. 169 Army Co-operation Sqn and 613 Sqn became new units at the base in December 1942. The Fleet Air Arm used the airfield for two months (March and April) of 1943. The airfield was then transferred to RAF Fighter command, although 48MU remained on the base.

After the war ended in May 1945, over half the remaining Halifax bombers were flown in from all over the country. For the next two years, the main task of 48MU was to strip down these old war machines. At one time, a huge pile of metal -some 80 feet high- could be seen near Rawcliffe village. The RAF had already left the airfield (in 1946) when scrapping was done. However, the Air Ministry had not decommissioned the airfield.

The airfield was again used by Yorkshire Aviation Services, but high rents to the Ministry closed the aeroclub in the early 1950's. After a period of disuse, the site was sold by York Corporation for housing development. By the late 1980s most of the airfield buildings had disappeared, but the runways still remained. The airfield is now covered by the Clifton Moor Retail Park and a housing estate.

Well worth a visit and definitely worth an investigation...

03/01/2023

p u m p c o u r t | chimney sweeps and pr******tes

At the junction of King's Court and Newgate, Pump Court (or Yard) was the site of one of the many water pumps and wells that served York. Between 1677 and 1685, piped water was turned on in parts of the city and in 1691, York opened a public bath-house. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, preached in a room called The Oven, here in 1753, so called because of its size and the number of people wanting to hear him preach made it very hot!

One of the country's only two surviving lantern tower windows is in Pump Court, sadly almost hidden from public view. A lady called Betty Petre lived here, keeping her cattle in the court before slaughter in the Shambles. A man called Herr Huber collected sheeps' guts and washed them in a drain before exporting them to Germany to make fiddle strings. Other residents included a chimney sweep and a pr******te, referred to locally as 'an old knock!'

28/08/2022

Sleeping in the Snow | Fulford Open Air School

In 1913, in the Council Chamber at York Guildhall, Fulford Field House was chosen to become Fulford Open Air School after a struggle to find an approved area away from the unhealthy centre of York, with many of the city’s children desperately in need of the recuperative qualities of the fresh-air regime that was so widely accepted. A numerous number of school children lived within the city walls, in a congested, confined, and ill-aerated atmosphere, the lowness of the ground, the height of sub-soil water, the narrowness of the streets and insanitary conditions of dwellings, being contributing and prominent factors. Large families and poor wages of the working men of York revealed statistics which went to show that the number of ill-nourished children was very great. Modern buildings have since encroached on the pastoral nature of the area, but 80 years ago, it seemed the ideal location for the school, between the now A19 and River Ouse.

Originally opening in 1913 at 11 Castlegate in the same building as the Tuberculosis Dispensary, the school would move into a converted army hut in the grounds of Fulford House to become known as Fulford Road School for Delicate and Partially Sighted Children.

But the move was not without a battle with military authorities. Fulford Field House was at the time used as a store for the neigbouring large military hospital on Hospital Fields Road and they were extremely reluctant to vacate the premises. It wasn’t until 1919 after almost 6 years of occupation, possession was obtained.

Children would have lessons in the grounds and sleep outdoors in all weathers, on camp beds even in the depths of winter. Their health began to improve purely because they received three nutritious meals a day. A menu is recorded as listing porridge and bread and dripping for breakfast, hot suet puddings, stew, and boiled fish for dinner, with hot milk and bread and margarine following for tea. Cured pupils moved onto other schools, with Fulford closing in 1960 and demolished in 1964. Almshouses were built nearby in the 1950’s for local brewery workers.

27/06/2022

1 2 N e w g a t e, Y o r k | 1 3 3 7

12 Newgate is now the quaint, historic and haunted location known fondly in York as Sandwitches Café. It stands in Newgate, a stones throw from the historic Shambles, Shambles Market and Patrick Pool.

Prominent since the Middle Ages, Newgate is in the heart of York. The building dates back to 1337 when Newgate was known as Le Newgate. It is reputed to be the second oldest house in York, built in the churchyard of St Sampson’s Church. Originally it formed part of a number of houses in a block that ran 130ft in length. The building has been a family home since it was built with the ground floor used as a shop.

Through our research we have discovered the names of one family in particular who lived and worked here for over 50 years from General Dealers and Millers, to Bakers. The family that lived here made this building their home, raised children and died here.

The following photographs give a glimpse of 12 Newgate and it's area, once full of locals, elegantly going about their business, shopping, browsing and posing for cameras.

Enjoy these photographs, not many of these souls will still be with us.

25/03/2022

m a r g a r e t c l i t h e r o w | The Pearl of York

The turmoil which followed the Reformation created an array of martyrs on both sides of the religious divide. One such martyr, nicknamed ‘the pearl of York’, was Margaret Clitherow, a staunch Catholic who lost her life in the name of Catholicism.

Margaret was born in York in 1556. In 1574 she converted to Catholicism and was first imprisoned in 1577 for refusing to attend Protestant church services, then two further prison sentences followed. Her third child was born in York Castle Museum prison.

Margaret was married to a wealthy butcher, John Clitherow. They lived in the Shambles, but not in the house which is now her shrine, but in the house opposite, . She hid priests in her house and had Mass said in secret, which was very dangerous when England was in imminent danger of invasion by the Catholic super-power Spain, and Catholic priests seen as spies. It was here that her house was searched by the authorities who found the location of a hiding place for priests and so Margaret was arrested, refusing to enter a plea.

Margaret was tried in the Guildhall, but refused to plead to prevent the trial starting, thus protecting her children and associates from being called as witnesses. For refusing to plead she was condemned to ‘peine forte et dure’ (long and hard pain), originally a torture designed to make people who refused to accept trial by jury. She was held in the prisons in the bowels of Ouse Bridge and martyred by the old Tollbooth at the south end of Ouse Bridge on this day in March 1586. Clothed only in her nightshirt, she was crushed under a door with progressively heavier stones put on it and a sharp stone under her back. Her body was thrown on the public dunghill, but her hand was rescued and remains as a relic at the The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre to this day. She was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

12/02/2022

53-55 m i c k l e g a t e | z i g g y ‘ s

Every city should have one. A dingy basement nightclub, licensed to stay open until the early hours so you can party throughout the night. But originally, what were these buildings?

Listed Grade II in 1954, this imposing and once distinguished townhouse, 53-55 Micklegate, was built shortly before 29th May 1755, thought to have been by York born Peter Harrison. It was then that the City Corporation required that ‘the wall lately built before the house and steps’ should be removed as an encroachment.

The cellars are extensive, barrel-vaulted or groined, running beneath the whole house. Above stairs, the building has two doorways, the left being the original, the right added in c.1813 due to subdivisions and alterations within the building - originally the doorway to the right was a window opening. Entrance hallways of Georgian houses were not simply blank impersonal passageways that provided the visitor with views as to what lay behind their doorways, but something to be seen. The original central entrance hall of this building lead to the main staircase at the back of the house and to the former servants’ staircase to the west and reached by a passage taken out of the west front room. The term ‘servants’ staircase can be misleading…for a while the family could use the main grand staircase to reach the formal rooms on the first floor, but they would have to had used the servants’ staircase to access the bedrooms on the second floor. This places the family and servants within the same space and indeed within the same group, a group that can be contrasted with that of outside visitors who would only have used the grand staircase.

So was this house as grand as it leads us to believe? The east front room was decorated to the highest quality with moulded and enriched woodwork, with panelled walls and elaborate cornice with imposing fireplace. History believes the entire house would have been grand, with a sumptuous main staircase with enriched panelled walls and windows adorned with floral swags and pendants. The first floor landing gave a guest the choice of five doorways, yet the design also allowed the choice to be informed. Although each of the doors had enriched pediments, three of the doors were further nested in an inner lobby provided a more intimate space. The central door of the lobby had a broken pediment, further guiding the visitor to their probable destination, the front drawing room.

During the 1700’s the house was owned by Lady Sarah Darcy Dawes (widow of Sir Arthur Dawes, 4th baronet) and her second husband, Paul Beilby-Thompson. In 1806 the house ‘the late residence of the Countess of Conyngham’ (widow of the first Earl) was advertised to be sold or let, with stabling for 18 horses in the Yorkshire Gazette.

After division c.1813 into two properties, No.53 on the left was occupied by a wine merchant whose business operated in the adjacent property from the mid-19th century. No.55 was occupied as offices by the Inland Revenue and other government bodies from 1853 onwards. In 1912, St Margaret’s Independent Grammar School for Girls moved into No.54 Micklegate. In 1944, extra accommodation was needed, so the school expanded into our building, No.55, and the school closed in 1968.

Neville England was a photographer at the Assembly Room in York during the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. He owned a photography studio in Low Ousegate and amongst other ventures in York, opened the first nightclub in York – ‘The 55 Club’ in this building, now known as Ziggy’s. The Staircase Restaurant was on the upper floors, the middle floors were a pub run by a lady called Rusty. The 55 Club was situated in the basement. It returned to single occupancy c.20 and the building is now Ziggy’s nightclub, first opened in 1982.

What would Lady Dawes have thought of her home now being a nightclub? Maybe she would be happy it is still standing and serving the young folk of York!

28/01/2022

j a c o b s w e l l | york

Just off Micklegate in York stands a beautiful 15th century timber framed building known as Jacobs Well and the building serves as the parish room for the Holy Trinity Church in Micklegate. Jacob’s Well was enlarged in the early Tudor period, originally an open hall house facing onto Trinity Lane. Around 1100AD, a Benedictine priory was established just outside Micklegate Bar and in the mid 1400’s Jacob’s Well was erected on the edge of the priory precinct. It was built as a lodging chamber for chantry priests to pray three times a week on the edge of the priory grounds.

After the dissolution of the monasteries, Holy Trinity Priory was dissolved in 1535 though the church was kept in use as the parish church. In 1547, the chantry was suppressed and the priests moved out of the house. Not yet known as Jacob’s Well, it was bought in the mid 1500’s by Isabel Warde, the last Prioress of Clementhorpe Nunnery, for herself and her sister. Their brother was a Brother in the Priory. Upon Isabel Warde’s death in 1569, the house reverted to the church trustees.

It became an inn during the 1600s and by 1749, licensed premises had come into being and the property was leased by the Trustees to Elisabeth Knapton. In the lease, the house was described as “lately … two messuages”, suggesting that the two separate parts had been reunited for form a single house. It was now known as Jacob’s Well.

Elizabeth Knapton retained the lease until 1790, and was followed by Roger Glover and John Furnish, described as a ‘coach masters’. Their joint business in 1792 is represented by the Sun Insurance firemark, fixed to the wall on the ground floor, to the left of the kitchen door. The building is described as “their dwelling house”, of ”timber, plaster and tiled”, and they had a coach-house, stable and granary on the other side of the street.

The coach-masters’ business lasted until 1815. In that year, £130 was spent on additions and repairs to the building and another storey was built on top of the wing, and the extension which forms the present kitchen was added, both constructed in brick. With the front door now inaccessible within the extension, the entrance to the building would have been moved to its present position. Once again Jacob’s Well Inn was licensed to sell ale.

In 1902, according to licensing records, the inn consisted of a bar and a smoke room, and a taproom used as dining-room and kitchen. Accommodation for the resident licensee was upstairs. In the following year, perhaps because the inn was no longer a viable business, the licence was surrendered and transferred to a new public house in Nunnery Lane. Jacob’s Well was taken back into use by the Trustees as the Parish Room for Holy Trinity Church.

A major restoration and remodelling was begun in 1905 when a new staircase was installed, and the large bay window in the hall overlooking the Rectory garden was built. The front door was reconstructed incorporating 15th century canopy brackets rescued from the demolished Wheatsheaf pub in Davygate.

By the end of the twentieth century, motor traffic waiting outside Jacob’s Well to turn into Micklegate was putting the medieval timber-framed building at risk of damage. Thus it was to become one of what must be very few Grade I listed buildings to be partially demolished with the approval of English Heritage. The heavy top floor was removed and a new roof built. What had been an early nineteenth century kitchen fireplace to the left of the front door was converted to the men’s toilet and the adjacent enclosed space, which once accommodated the spiral staircase, became the ladies’ toilet.

For 500 years, Jacob’s Well has maintained the tradition of hospitality and service to the parishioners of Holy Trinity Micklegate and It is now home to the Gild of Butchers after the decision to move from their Hall in the Shambles and make Jacobs Well their ‘home’.

25/01/2022

The RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of 15th April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at around 23.40 on 14th April. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02.20 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.

On board where three people who were born in York.

Mr Charles William Hogg. Victualling Crew (Bedroom Steward). Born 28th November 1868, baptized at St Mary’s, York, married Jane Hughes in 1892. Charles and Jane had 7 children, sadly 4 died in infancy. When Charles signed onto the Titanic on 4th April 1912, his previous ship had been the Carmania and as a First Class Bedroom Steward, he received monthly wages of £3,15s. Charles Hogg was lost in the Titanic disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified. His widow, Jane, never remarried and died in 1916.

Mr Arthur Alfred Kitching. Victualling Crew (Saloon Steward). Born in 1881. Arthur signed onto the Titanic on 6th April 1912. His previous ship was the Olympic and as a first class steward he could expect to receive monthly wages of £3,15s. Arthur Kitching never married and was lost in the Titanic disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified. His parents passed away in 1933 and 1938 and his last surviving sibling passed away in 1976.

Miss Lucy Ridsdale (2nd class passenger). Born on 20th March 1854, Lucy worked as a domestic servant in the home of a grocer at 16 Parliament Street, York. By 1881 she worked as a nurse to a family of a ribbon buyer. In 1911 she was trained as a sick nurse. She boarded the Titanic at Southampton sharing a 2nd Class cabin. After the collision, Miss Ridsdale was helped to dress by her cabin-mate; being afflicted by a club-foot she struggled to get into the boat-deck, but was eventually able to get into a lifeboat. After the disaster, she made a detailed claim for the loss of her personal effects to the value of $3,146. Her claim against the White Star Line suggested she had run a nursing home for many years before retiring, but the census only shows her as an employee. By 1940 she was listed as an ‘inmate’ of an ‘old people’s home’ in Chicago. She died in Chicago, aged 91.

04/01/2022

t h e b l a c k s w a n i n n | coney street

The Black Swan Inn occupied a dominant position where the former BhS building stood in the heart of life in Georgian York. Back in the 18th century, the street would have been even busier than in modern times because it was the main arrival and departure point for stage coaches with the first scheduled stage coach from York to London setting off from Coney Street in 1706.

The Black Swan Inn was among the most important inns and coaching houses in York in the 18th century. It occupied a deep site some 60 ft. wide by 208 ft. deep, with the main building fronting the street and with a yard behind, which in 1850 was entirely surrounded by buildings. At that time the inn also included a building on the site of the Yorkshire Bank built in 1923. The inn itself was a 17th-century structure, wholly refronted and partly rebuilt in 1790 to follow the new building line of Coney Street. The Black Swan Inn seems to have occupied quite an area as all the inns in York stabling horses, presumably had to with The Black Swan itself having stabling for 100 horses. What a sight this must have been!

In April 1706, the first stage coach left the Black Swan, Holborn for York at 5am with the journey taking four days. In 1786 the first mail coaches appeared, and by 1830 eighteen coaches left The Black Swan daily. In 1838 the time from London to York was down to 21 hours. Stage coaches included the 'Express' to Carlisle, 'Tally Ho' to Carlisle, 'Rockingham' to Hull (every forenoon), 'Trafalgar' to Hull (every afternoon) 'Union' to Kendal (every morning) and 'True Blue' to Leeds (every afternoon).

A journal by the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, writing in 1857, includes these descriptions about The Black Swan Inn: "It is a very ancient hotel; for in the coffee-room I saw on the wall an old printed advertisement, announcing that a stage-coach would leave the Black Swan in London, and arrive at the Black Swan in York, with God’s permission, in four days. The date was 1706; and still, after a hundred and fifty years, the Black Swan receives travellers in Coney Street. It is a very good hotel, and was much thronged with guests when we arrived, as the Sessions come on this week". And from another visit the same year: 'The Black Swan, where we had been staying, is a good specimen of the old English inn, sombre, quiet, with dark staircases, dingy rooms, curtained beds, all the possibilities of a comfortable life and good English fare, in a fashion which cannot have been much altered for half a century. It is very home-like when one has one’s family about him, but must be prodigiously stupid for a solitary man".

The Black Swan Inn closed on 4th April 1939, when its sign, a black swan, was given to York Castle Museum. The building was demolished in 1968 when a shop was built on the site.

22/12/2021

d e a n c o u r t h o t e l | what lies beneath?

The ancient city of York has been home to Romans, Vikings and Normans to name but a few, who have left behind a rich treasure trove of history for us to uncover. From Roman roads to escape routes for nuns, there is a whole network of tunnels and passageways beneath the city that show how much York has changed since its beginning.

While visitors come to York to see the well-known sites, there is a world of history below ground that most people don’t get to see. Until today. Today we take you beneath this imposing hotel on a journey underground.

It starts with York Minster. A section of roman road was discovered beneath the Undercroft, believed to be an old back street that ran behind the Roman Basilica – where the current Minster sits. It appears to have been used for several centuries with patches and repairs visible along it. And so this brings us to the Dean Court Hotel. It is rumoured that there were tunnels leading from beneath the Minster to various locations nearby and why wouldn’t there be?

There is a moat area beneath street level accessed from within the Dean Court Hotel. As we walked this ‘street’, the history and time past leapt out at us. From old windowsills to a ‘fire’, we walked through empty and forgotten spaces; past bricked up corridors, down High Petergate, the tunnel growing darker with each step, where it narrowed to a brick wall. Where would it have led to?

Built in the mid-1800’s, the hotel was originally three separate dwellings for the clergy of the Minster. If a tunnel did lead from the Minster to the Dean Court Hotel, what would it have been used for? The idea of such a tunnel is an intriguing thought.

This hotel has its fair share of ghosts. Reputedly one of York’s most haunted hotels, it is known for being haunted by the ‘mad maid’. Several staff members and guests have claimed to encounter her apparition. She is seen rushing about the hotel, doing her daily chores. She has been described as having an angry look on her face…what is she disgruntled about?

Room 36 has gained a reputation of being haunted by an aggressive spirit that is anything but welcoming to guests whom have reported a mixed bag of paranormal activity from slamming doors, objects moving on their own, a cold chill filling the room and the feeling of a powerful person with large hands pressing down on their chest.

The servants’ quarters overlooking the Minster have a definite feel…of not being alone. We ventured to the top of the hotel, climbed old rickety stairs and entered the forgotten rooms. What a view the servants would have woken up to.
Dean Court - York

22/12/2021

y o r k t h e a t r e r o y a l | history and hauntings

When you look up at the York Theatre Royal, what do you see? Modern day signage, the latest advertised show and café inside. But what is behind the modern day appearance? Step inside and you will see architecture from the Medieval, Georgian and Victorian periods. A rich history which all began in 1744.

Built on the site of the medieval St. Leonard and St Peter, one of the largest and wealthiest hospitals in Medieval England, parts of the undercroft of the old hospital can still be seen in the modern building, including archways and walls. The Keregan Room has some of the best remaining parts of St Leonard’s Hospital dating back to 12th century Britain, converted from the medieval undercroft. The wealthy 12th century community of York would have paid private medical insurance to the hospital to ensure care in their older years. The brothers and sisters who served in the hospital would have walked the room’s centuries before us caring for over 500 patients. But the role of a medieval hospital was not one that can be directly equated with modern views of a hospital. Whilst St Leonard’s cared for both the curable and incurable sick, it also housed orphans and the infirm, provided food for the prisoners of York Castle and gave alms and food at the gate for numbers of dependants and beggars. The hospital originally extended over to St Mary’s Abbey in the Museum Gardens and would have doubled as a resting place for pilgrims.

If you look closely, you will see cross marks on the ceiling, mirrored on the floor by the 21st century box office archway openings which are visible as you walk into the foyer.

A stone gateway, located backstage, was once thought to have been a gateway to the Royal Mint, which was moved to the hospital precinct in 1546, or a medieval gateway in the St Leonard’s Hospital precinct…having been a source of speculation to theatre staff and players for many years, it is now giving up its secrets. It is now thought to have been built in the mid-18th century as, rather fittingly, a theatrical entrance to the original theatre building, which historic maps suggest was once occupied by the Royal Mint as early as 1744.

Under the stage lies a stone lined well, found within one of the store rooms under the stage. This may have been contemporary with the hospital and archaeological evidence suggests it was in use until the theatre was moved out of the mint building in 1764.

All the time actors had been treading the boards, they were unknowingly walking above a cobbled street, and it’s a real one, not a set created by the theatre’s designers. It dates from the post-medieval period and the theatre was built over it. The cobbles and stone used in the street’s surface are also remains from St Leonard’s.

There are so many ways to experience the past. We know when we can feel it; it reaches under our skin and into our very bones. Living in York, what else can you expect? The past is around every corner and down every street. And so are the ghosts…

York Theatre Royal also has its own ghost stories. It is said that a room behind the dress circle his haunted by the ghost of the Grey Lady – a young nun who fell in love with a nobleman, but when found out was thrown into a windowless room that was bricked up with no escape. A gruesome tale, but apparently if the nun is seen in her grey habit in the dress circle, it’s a good omen for that night’s production.

During a production one evening, an audience member went to the bathroom and after seeing a ghost, left the theatre, refusing to return to her seat.

Another ghost is that of ‘The Dandy’ – often seen near the stage, wearing a large ring. The Dandy was apparently killed in a duel on Blake Street, and was seen on stage at his time of death by other actors performing that night.

Staff and audience members have had various spooky encounters over the years which cannot be explained. So whether you visit to see a production, have lunch or are just curious about the tales, York Theatre Royal lives and breathes history. Well worth a visit.