Embedded Files
The archives of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York can tell us a lot about what is happening across the wider city of York, as well as at the Hall itself. In this blog, a group of University of York students chose to research the receipts and vouchers surviving in the archive, to tell the story of some of York's lost pubs.
Local legend has it that York has a pub for every day of the year, and we've uncovered a few more!
Over the centuries many of York's coach houses, taverns and hotels have been closed or destroyed, victims to the changing landscape of the city. However, in some cases their legacy lives on in the receipts they issued to the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York. Using these receipts we've been able to trace interactions between the Company and just some of these 'lost' pubs.
Excerpt from a receipt from the King's Arms, 1830.
The King’s Arms
The King’s Arms
Located just over the Foss Bridge, the King's Arms was one of the most extensively used pubs by members of the Company of Merchant Adventurers between the 1820s and the 1840s. There are over 40 receipts in the archives for the pub in this period alone.
Whilst the receipts can tell us some information about what was being purchased, we can also see other changes within York and its network of businesses. The printers Deighton and Moxon, for example, used to make the billheads for many business receipts, but went out of business in 1836.
Although a King's Arms does still exist in York, on the banks of the River Ouse, this particular one had its license revoked (or more likely, not renewed) in 1936 and is not connected to the current pub (although the building it was based in does still survive). Evidence for this pub’s existence can still be seen through the faded advertisement on the building’s side wall, a final reminder of the Kings Arms legacy.
The Old Sand Hill
The Old Sand Hill
The Old Sand Hill was another of the Company's favourite business partners in the 1830s and 1840s, holding the record for the single most expensive meal purchased by the Company within the 19th century archives, costing them £33 in 1849, which is around £4,300 today!* Similarly to the King's Arms, the Old Sand Hill continued to do business into the 20th century, finally closing in 1910. The building on Colliergate where the pub once stood is also still in existence. It was also home to the Ancient Society of York Florists (the oldest horticultural society in the world).
*Figures taken from www.measuringworth.com.
Bill head from a receipt for the Old Sand Hill pub, York, 1835.
The George Inn
The George Inn
Situated on Coney Street in the centre of York, the George Inn is the oldest pub on this list, being mentioned in records as early as 1455, and being utilised by the Merchant Adventurers' Guild extensively in the opening decade of the 19th century. It appears in the surviving archive of receipts in the first half of the century before disappearing, most likely due to the fact the business was sold in 1855. The vast majority of the building that it once inhabited was then demolished in 1869.
A small fragment of the building which contained the entrance way for the coach house can still be seen on Coney Street; the only physical reminder of this historic pub. Unlike the Old Sand Hall and the King's Arms, the the popularity of the George Inn diminished as traditional horse drawn coaches began to be replaced with rail travel during the mid-19th century. This led to its closure.
Entrance to the Old White Swan pub on Goodramgate, photographed in 2024.
The White Swan
The White Swan
The final pub we wanted to consider is the only one to have survived until the present day, with the White Swan still serving York from its location on Goodramgate in more or less the same manner as it would have served the Merchant Adventurers over 150 years ago. The White Swan was predominantly used by the Company in the 1840s, although it was far from their most frequently visited during this time.
A different White Swan was also used by the Company earlier in the 19th century, however we know little about it from the surviving archives. The building where it would have been is today located on the corner of Coppergate and Piccadilly, and was still a pub in 2024.
And that’s it for our dive into the lost pubs of 19th century York! We hope you have enjoyed uncovering the unique stories of each of these establishments through the eyes of one of their most lucrative patrons, the Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York. Although the Company was not as influential in the 19th century as it was in its early history, their archives have still been incredibly valuable to us in helping to uncover some of the hidden stories of York, even after any physical evidence of these establishments has long since been destroyed.
To view this blog post in a downloadable format you can use as a walking tour around York, please click on the arrow in the top right of the box below, where you will find a PDF version.
York’s Lost Pubs Walking Guide.pdfPage updated
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