Ye Olde Starre Inne in Stonegate, York – how it got its name

YE Olde Starre Inne in Stonegate holds the title for the longest continuous licence since 1644.

Today, it’s a Greene King pub, but no longer provides accommodation for visitors. Several suggestions have been made as to the origin of its name. Some say that it was named after the Star of Bethlehem which guided pilgrims to York Minster.

Others claim that it’s named after the six-pointed star which is the symbol of the Worshipful Company of Innholders.

And another possibility is that it was, in fact, so called in honour of King Charles I who was nicknamed The Old Star by his Royalist followers during the English Civil War of the 1640s.

Princess Elizabeth walking in procession along Stonegate in 1949, accompanied by the Lord Mayor of York, JB Morrell. You can see the advertising hoarding for Ye Old Starre Inn with the Minster in the background

Originally, the Starre had stables with an entrance from Lop Lane (present-day Duncombe Place).

The distinctive beamed sign advertising the inn across Stonegate was erected by licensee Thomas Bulman in 1733.

In his book, York’s Historic Inns, Pete Coxon notes that the inn is mentioned twice in 1644. Thomas Broad, a printer, lived at the house of Mistress Rogers in Stonegate ‘over against the Starre’.

Entrance to Ye Olde Starre Inn

The second mention is during the Civil War. When the Parliamentarians entered York after the siege of the city, they stayed at the Starre inn whose staunchly Royalist licensee was a certain William Foster.

And we can imagine how grudgingly he served them. The inn’s cellar served as both an operating room and a morgue for soldiers who’d been injured or killed at the nearby Battle of Marston Moor (1644).

Staff have claimed that their ghostly shrieks can still be heard.

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Like many old pubs, Ye Olde Starre Inne has its share of ghosts. John Arnold, the manager, told me the story of the two black cats which were reputedly buried alive in the wooden pillar at the centre of the main bar. This was a common superstitious practice in the 17th century to ensure the future safety of a building. Their ghosts are seen as shadows, and dogs entering the bar growl at them from a distance.

Ye Olde Starre Inne pub sign.

John took me to the Minster Yard garden at the rear of the inn. Here there was originally a well which provided pure water to large parts of the city. He also told me about the ghost of the little girl staring out of the attic window. She was seen by two of his customers who were seated one bright sunny day in this Minster Yard garden. There was no way anyone could have accessed the attic, let alone a little girl.

Today, the inn caters for a mix of tourists and regulars. Pubs are a precious part of our island heritage, and we should do everything possible to ensure that they survive.

David Wilson is a community writer with The Press