The York Ghost Signs Project, led by Dr. Tyson Mitman and supported by Historic England, digitally preserves and explores York’s enigmatic ghost signs.
York is the location of many historic ghost signs. The goal of this project is to document these ghost signs, research their histories and provide that history to you on this website.
Additionally, this project aims to record – through interviews – the influence of these ghost signs on individuals’ experiences and personal memories of York.
If you have any experiences or memories of a York ghost sign that you would like to talk about, please get in touch by emailing Dr. Tyson Mitman.
What are ghost signs?
Ghost signs are the lingering, faded advertisements or signs which are generally for shops, products, or services that are no longer available.
These ghost signs decorate the city, and provide insights into the social and economic history of the city.
What do they look like?
These signs come in many forms, with the most common being the fading sign, painted on the exterior wall of a building. Many other varieties exist as well though.
Some are signs painted on boards attached to buildings, some are tile mosaics at the entrances of shops, some are metal or wooden letters bolted to the exteriors of buildings.
Others are letters etched into the metal or stone around door frames and windows, and some are letters cast in concrete or plaster.
To see some of York’s ghost signs, visit our gallery page. Or you can explore our interactive map.
Join the conversation, share your insights, and help us weave the rich tapestry of stories behind York’s ghost signs.
My mother Muriel Feasby and Peter Lyons who lived across the street. Painted Victory on the end wall of Nelson Street in the Groves on D Day They also painted a hangman and wrote ‘Hitler’ underneath. The sign was still visible in the 1980,s, but have not visited since. My Mum is still around at 91 yrs old.
Hi Linda! I actually live really close to Nelson Street and had a look today, you can still make out ‘Victory’. The O, R and Y are pretty clear, but the rest is more faded.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I’ve lived right next to that VICTORY sign and never noticed it.
When the York brewery pub was opposite the the punch bowl in Stonegate which is now Ramsdens,we often used to sit upstairs in the window overlooking Stonegate,there wasn’t a bar upstairs so when you needed a refill you had to go down the stairs during one of those trips over 15 years ago going back up drinks in hand I received two hard sharp taps on my back,i turned round expecting to see someone I knew but there was nobody there.Apart from my wife who was waiting upstairs for her pino i never told the story to anyone until I went to my nephews wedding in Derbyshire a few years ago when ghost stories where being discussed I told the story and my then son in law looked up Stonegate ghost stories and came across a story about a person that looked after that area .
Thanks for sharing your story Bii! I remember playing cards in the York Brewery before it got converted, it’s amazing how places like that hold so many personal memories. Your experience adds another layer to the rich history we’re trying to capture here with our ghost signs project. If you have any more stories or memories, especially related to old signs or historic spots around York, we’d love to hear them!
You might be interested in our books about our local area, which feature the history behind many of these buildings and businesses https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/our-shopping-history/our-publications/. The first two are out of print but in the library.
Susan Major, Clements Hall Local History Group
https://www.clementshallhistorygroup.org.uk/
These look fantastic, thank you so much Susan!
Bile Beans was always a family favourite, as was one further up Lord Mayor’s Walk which sadly got built over in the extensions to St John’s College. I remember inviting my friend John Shannon to involve the York Civic Trust to invest in renovating the BIle Beans, after which my children temporarily granted me hero dad status!
Hi Robert! These are great stories, I’ve never heard about the demolished ghost sign further up Lord Mayors Walk.
A big part of this project is actually gathering the personal stories people have about these ghost signs, so I wondered if you might fancy having an interview with us, as part of our research? These stories could be anything about ghost signs, their history or any personal stories you have about them.
Do you think this sounds like something you’d be interested in?
Re the BILE BEAN sign.
This was originally painted in 1955 by a late friend of mine called Derrick Caygill, originally from the Bradford area. He was a sign writer working for a Bradford company at the time. Before he died he had been living in Otley with his wife and had become an expert in painting heraldic signage.
Hi Michael, thanks so much for getting in touch! This is a fantastic story, do you know much about sign painting yourself?
My mother always told the story of how she and her sister as young girls during the war were sent from Lingcroft cottages Fulford to Crosses on Clifton green for meat and other supplies. There used to be a metal sign straddling the arch way with the word “Cross” Or “Crosses of York”. Mother thought it amusing as her mother would send them but not set foot in town for fear of the bombing.
There is a sign, not particularly ghost like as it looks as though it’s been repainted FR Stubbs Fossgate, on the side of the building, partly hidden by the new flats. What a shop that was, anything and almost everything was sold, big chests of drawers with screws, nails etc and lots of shelving.
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