Clements Hall Local History Group

07/10/2026

Susan Major will be talking about our new Blossom Street book at an event at Toppings, on Wednesday 21 October, details below.

Join us for an evening celebrating the history of York and the publication of Clements Hall History Group's latest book. Blossom Street is the latest in their series exploring neighbourhoods in York in the decades past.

25/09/2026

Susan Major is leading a walk for the York Walking Festival on Sunday 4 October about Blossom Street, details at https://www.itravelyork.info/yorkwalkingfestival

The street is the subject of our new book. It'll be on sale from 21 October - stockists at https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/our-shopping-history/our-publications/

16/09/2026

Our next talk is on Friday 25 September 2026 at 7.45pm in Clements Hall. (Please note our doors will be open at 7.30 pm.)

York’s Inner Ring Road: a nightmare dodged or a dream lost?
A talk by Peter Thompson

The 1948 plan for York’s Inner Ring Road was inspired by John Bowes Morrell. He proposed demolishing most of the buildings immediately outside the city walls, to create an uninterrupted view of the mediaeval walls. For our area the 1948 plan would see a major roundabout at the Blossom Street-Holgate Road junction, and while the Odeon Cinema would survive, all buildings between it and Micklegate Bar would be demolished, along with Scarcroft School and many streets in Clementhorpe.

This talk will how the 1948 plan changed over the next 25 years and how we've escaped with the inner ring road we have today.

Details at https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/our-events/yorks-inner-ring-road-90-years-on/

14/08/2026

I've written a new blog post about an important decision, see

11/07/2026

We held meetings about Nunnery Lane at the Trafalgar Bay in 2021, and launched "Nunnery Lane and Clementhorpe: exploring old shops and pubs in York" there, thanks to Sarah and Phil.
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/26269368.fresh-attempt-reopen-sam-smith-pub-trafalgar-bay-york/

The book won a national award https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/blog/national-award-for-our-latest-book/ and is still on sale locally and in the city centre see https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/our-shopping-history/our-publications/

21/06/2026

Come along and see our display at the Bishyroad Street Party. Lots of old photos, also our books. Catherine Sotheran is here too with her books.

11/06/2026

Come along and see us at the Bishyroad Street Party on Sunday 21 June 2026, where we'll be displaying some of our researches about our local area, and telling you about our talks programme.
We'll be featuring Bishy Road, Nunnery Lane and Clementhorpe, South Bank, Bishophill and Skeldergate. There will be copies of our books, so you can complete your set, including our latest, about Micklegate.
We're currently researching Blossom Street, which has a fascinating history, so if you have any old photos and/or memories, please bring them. We'll be in the car park between 11am and 4 pm.

07/05/2026

May is Local History and Community Month so why not come along to our next talk, by local photographer Catherine Sotheran on Friday 22 May 2026 at 7.45pm in Clements Hall. Details at https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/our-events/micklegate-and-bishophill-in-close-up/

01/05/2026

York City FC are on our minds just now, so we wrote about one of their players from the 1920s, who had a shop in Bishyroad

Community writer SUSAN MAJOR shares a great story about a former York City footballer George Maskill

27/04/2026

We've written a new blogpost about an intriguing trace from history at the recently refurbished on Bishopthorpe Road. Have you spotted them yet?
https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/blog/traces-of-history