Magnet Ales

 

Address: 152 Fulford Road, York, YO10 4BE

 

Description

A metal sign hangs from a shop front, featuring a red U-shaped magnet against a yellow background.

Above it, ‘Magnet’ in yellow block letters, and below, ‘Ales’ in matching yellow font against a red backdrop.

 

 

History

The signs depicting a U-shaped magnet were once a common sight across York, advertising John Smith’s Magnet Ales—a hugely popular beer in the 1900s.

 

Another ghost sign featuring this famous magnet image can be found elsewhere in the city.

 

 

John Smith’s Brewery, based in Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, has been producing beers for generations.

 

While the majority of sales come from their nitrogenated Extra Smooth product, they also offer a cask-conditioned variant and a stronger brew called Magnet, which this sign promotes.

 

Magnet Ales remains a staple in the North East of England.

 

 

After World War II, John Smith’s became one of the largest regional brewers in the country, operating over 1,800 licensed premises.

 

The brewery is well known for its highly successful “No Nonsense” advertising campaigns, featuring characters like “Arkwright” in the 1970s and 1980s, comedians Jack Dee in the 1990s, and Peter Kay since 2002.

 

Several pubs in York were owned by John Smith’s Brewery, including:

 

• Golden Ball in Bishophill

• The Sun Inn in Acomb

• Bay Horse in Fulford

• Thomas’s Hotel on Museum Street (which also has a prominent ghost sign)

• The Golden Slipper on Goodramgate

 

 

The sign at 152 Fulford Road, however, was not outside a pub but an off-licence run by the Wash family in the early 20th century, which sold bottled Magnet Ales.

 

Today, the building has been renovated and now houses a hair salon, but the iconic sign remains, serving as a nostalgic reminder of York’s brewing heritage.

 

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