York Civic Trust has recently worked with the York BID and the University of York to launch a new public art trail across seven of the city’s historic snickelways, celebrating their hidden heritage and making them more inviting for residents and visitors.
The Snickelways History Trail is the second phase of York BID’s Snickelway Rejuvenation Project, which has already transformed these unique passageways with permanent festoon lighting, deep cleaning, and improved infrastructure.
The new wayfinding panels, created by local design studio Bright White and installed in Coffee Yard, Finkle Street, Lunds Court, Nether Hornpot Lane, Peter Lane, Le Kyrk Lane, and Popes Head Alley, shine a light on York’s medieval history. Stories of lost churches, medieval marketplaces, and the craftspeople who shaped the city are brought vividly to life, inviting people to explore and engage with York’s Snickelways in a new way.
The Snickelways History Trail builds on York BID’s wider programme of public art and placemaking. The Snickelways Rejuvenation Project is part of York BID’s ongoing work to create a safer, cleaner, and more vibrant city centre. With regular deep cleans, new cigarette bins, and a monthly maintenance schedule, the Snickelways will remain as inviting as they are today.
This project was generously funded by grants from the North Yorkshire Police, Fire, and Crime Commissioner, York Safer Business Partnership, and York Civic Trust.
More information about York’s Snickelways
The BID has worked with York Civic Trust and the University of York to research and interpret these Snickelways through a free history trail in:
- Coffee Yard
- Lunds Court
- Finkle Street
- Nether Hornpot Lane
- Peter Lane
- Pope’s Head Alley
- Le Kyrk Lane
Lost Markets
York has a long history as a market city – the snickelways that still connect to St Sampson’s Square once gave access for people and goods moving to and from the market.
Finkle Street was once used as a control passage to move cattle and other livestock out of ‘Thursday Market,’ the weekly market at St Sampson’s Square between the 14th and 19th centuries. It’s had this name since at least the 14th Century and, by the 1750s, was also known as Mucky Pig Lane due to the pigs passing through to Swinegate which held the pig market.
Nether Hornpot Lane was once the street of the Hornworkers and their rubbish pits – hence the close proximity to Thursday Market where cattle were bought and sold. Cattle horns were soaked in a ‘tan pit’ to produce a malleable material, similar to plastic, that was used for crafting things like buttons, combs, and cutlery handles.
Lost Buildings
These three Snickelways once led to the now lost Church of St Peter-the-Little. ‘The Little’ distinguished the Church from York Minster, the city’s other (much larger) Church dedicated to St Peter.
Although no remains of the church stand today, the names of these Snickelways point to its existence: Peter Lane likely got its name from being used as a route to the church and Le Kyrk Lane can be directly translated to ‘the Church Lane,’ while Pope’s Head Alley is also likely to relate to its proximity to the once Catholic church of St Peter-the-Little.
Making the City
These two Snickelways evoke Medieval York through their low, covered entrances and exposed wooden timbers.
Coffee Yard has a rich printing history; from the 1720s, Thomas Gent ran a printing press here, from which he published a weekly newspaper. You might notice the red ‘Printer’s Devil’ on the Stonegate entrance to the snickelway – the symbol of the devil was often associated with printing as the ink blackened worker’s fingers, giving them a demonic appearance!
Lund’s Court was formerly known as Mad Alice Lane – it’s unclear where this snickelway got its name from although there are plenty of rumours that an ‘Alice Smith’ lived here, who was hung for murdering her husband. Although there is no evidence that an ‘Alice Smith’ was executed at York Castle in the 1800s, it is likely ‘Alice’ was a local personality who lived nearby.
