York Civic Trust frequently receives lots of brilliant suggestions for new blue plaques in the city from the general public using our selection criteria.
To be honest, we receive far too many great suggestions to unveil in any one year, or even across a whole decade.
This page details some of the most recent suggestions we have received.
Your feedback can help determine which plaque is next to be unveiled!
We’re keen to hear from you:
- Which proposed plaque excites you the most and why?
- Where should that plaque be put up?
- When should the plaque be unveiled? (On what anniversary date, or connected perhaps with a relevant event going to happen in the city – or happening (inter)nationally as an event or in current affairs? What’s its relevancy, in other words)
- Have you information or a connection with the person or place being proposed? If so, we’d love to hear from you!!
- Who, where or what are we missing? (If so: suggest a new plaque!)
Please use Twitter #yorkcivictrust, Facebook, or email: info@yorkcivictrust.co.uk to tell us which of these we should progress forward.
Plaques under consideration
Lady Anne House at Middletons Hotel
Lady Anne House, now as part of Middletons Hotel. IMAGE: Middletons.
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| Lady Anne House at Middletons Hotel (built 1829) | |
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| Who / What ? | Lady Anne House, a former hospital now hotel. |
| Why ? | This Grade II* listed building by Peter Atkinson takes its name from Dame Anne Middleton, who was the wife of the Sheriff of York in 1659, Peter Middleton. An endowment in her name funded a hospital and refuge for widows of York Freemen. By 1972, the building was nearly derelict when the owners of the hotel at No. 56 Skeldergate stepped in and purchased the property to expand their hotel, which would become the current Lady Anne House. The carved figure of the Foundress over the door is thought to date from the original almhouses of 1659. |
| Where? | Lady Anne House at Middletons Hotel, Skeldergate, York |
| When? | 2026 – Marks 460 years since Lady Anne’s death. 2028 – Marks 510 years since Lady Anne’s birthday. 2029 – Marks 200 years since the rebuild of the house, now hotel. |
Thomas Horsley, “Gunmaker of York”
Photo of the second Thomas Horsley outside his shop at 10 (now 17) Coney St.
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| “Thomas Horsley, Gunmaker of York” (1834-1956) | |
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| Who / What ? | Three generations, all called Thomas, who were entrepreneurs, inventors and patentees of breech loading sporting guns as ‘Thomas Horsley’ (Company), Gunmaker of York, 1834-1956 |
| Why ? | The rise in popularity of sporting shooting in the mid-1800’s led to a race in technical advances which ended up with the modern sporting shotgun by the 1890’s. The first two Thomas Horsleys were at the forefront of the invention of breech loading hammer guns, and by hand-making elegant guns of the highest quality, all in a workshop behind one of York’s busiest streets. They gained a client list of many of the wealthiest landowners in the North East of England and Yorkshire in particular. Thomas Horsley (the 2nd) filed seven gunmaking patents and was the first inventor of a successful “snap action” breechloader. The firm diversified into bicycles and then motor cars in the early 20th Century. The sporting gunmaking trade was devastated by the two world wars and the firm was last in Micklegate when it closed in 1956. A reproduction of this shop with tools is displayed in York Castle Museum |
| Where? | The most successful and productive years of this business were at today’s 17 Coney Street, next to the then George Hotel, from 1856 – 1914. The front of the premises remains largely unchanged. |
| When? | 2024 is the 180th anniversary of the birth of the most famous family member, the second Thomas. |
William Pearson
Private William Pearson outside Preston Barracks, Brighton. IMAGE: E.J. Boys Archive.
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| WILLIAM PEARSON (1825-1909) | |
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| Who / What ? | Private William Pearson – Solider and survivor of “The Charge of the Light Brigade” |
| Why ? | Private William Pearson served in the Crimean War (1853 – 1856) and later the Indian Mutiny Campaign. He was one of few survivors from the 600 men who rode into the ‘Valley of Death’ during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 – often referred to as the “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. On being discharged from the military in 1861, Pearson lived in York until the end of his life, and was employed as a “Turnkey” (jailor) at York Castle. |
| Where? | No.54 Monkgate, where Pearson lived and died. |
| When? | 2025: 200th anniversary of Pearson’s birth; to time with the formal closure of Fulford Barracks. |
York Home for Nurses / later Purey Cust Nursing Home
Purey Cust Nursing Home on Precentor’s Court – now residential housing. IMAGE: Purey-Cust Trust
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| YORK HOME FOR NURSES / later Purey Cust Nursing Home (1870-1983) | |
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| Who / What ? | York Home for Nurses [YHFN] & Purey Cust Nursing Home [PCNH] – Health care providers and for training |
| Why ? | The YHFN was a unique institution. Run by a community of Anglican Sisters – the Sisters of the Holy Cross – it trained hundreds of nurses, pioneered its own local scheme for district nursing, and participated in all the major events in the City, including epidemics, floods and a Civic funeral. The YHFN and later PCNH were a key part of the health care infrastructure of the City in the days before the National Health Service. (The PCNH was named after Canon Purey-Cust, who was an immensely popular Dean of York from 1880 to 1917.) |
| Where? | No.37 Monkgate, where YHFN was based from 1885-1914, or Precentor’s Court, where PCNH was based from 1914-1983. |
| When? | 2024: 110 years since the YHFN was transformed into the PCNH. 2028 marks the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the NHS, an opportunity to also celebrate associated historic health-care provision. |
Florence Wright
Florence Wright at YAYAS presentation at York Castle Museum in 1981. Image courtesy of Anna Cook.
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| FLORENCE WRIGHT (1910-1986) | |
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| Who / What ? | Florence Wright – Educator |
| Why ? | Following an education at Queen Anne’s County Grammar School for Girls, York, and the University of Leeds – at a time when females in academia were rare – Florence Wright became, first, a school teacher at Knavesmire Secondary Modern School for Girls and, after 1950, the Castle Museum as their Education Officer. The latter role allowed her to give fascinating and informative instruction of countless school children about York’s past during their visits to the museum, for which she earned the affectionate title ‘the Grey Lady’ due to her attire (but not mannerism!) Her interest in the history of York and the importance of sharing it to all extended to her role as Assistant Secretary / Secretary of the Yorkshire Architectural and York Archaeological Society for over forty years, and as a founder member of the York Association of Voluntary Guides. |
| Where? | Festival Flats, Paragon St, Florence’s home for nearly thirty years. |
| When? | 2025 – 75th anniversary of Florence’s employment with the Castle Museum; 2026 – 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain (including York Festival), which Florence was involved in, and whose later home – Festival Flats – were a showcase of new design as part of the 1951 national event. |
Flora Sandes
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| FLORA SANDES (1876-1956) | |
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| Who / What ? | Flora Sandes – Soldier & Volunteer Nurse |
| Why ? | York-born and bred, Sergeant-Major Flora Sandes was the only British woman officially to serve as a soldier in WWI. Refusing to retreat with Red Cross colleagues in the Balkans, she enlisted with the Royal Serbian Army in 1915 and quickly rose through the ranks. Seriously wounded in hand-to-hand combat, she subsequently received Serbia’s highest military decoration. After the war, she lived in Yugoslavia and is noted as being Belgrade’s first taxi driver. |
| Where? | Her childhood home in Nether Poppleton |
| When? | 2026 – 150th anniversary of Flora’s birth; 2028 – 150th annviersary of Serbia’s recvongition as an indepedant nation (following Ottoman rule); a Remembrance Sunday. |
Eliza Gutch
Holgate Windmill: Gutch was the last private owner of this five-sailed windmill that stands today as York’s last surviving example.
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| ELIZA GUTCH (1840-1931) | |
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| Who / What ? | Eliza Gutch – Author & Folklorist |
| Why ? | Known to the public simply as “Mrs. Gutch”, Eliza was an eminent author and founding member of the English Dialect Society in 1873. She prompted the foundation of the Folklore Society in 1872, for which she was a specialist in Yorkshire folklore. She lived in York for over sixty years and was the last private owner of Holgate Windmill. |
| Where? | Holgate Lodge, her former home |
| When? | 2023 – the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the English Dialect Society? |
Lindley Murray
Holgate House, Holgate: Murray’s former home. IMAGE: Wikipedia
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| LINDLEY MURRAY (1745-1826) | |
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| Who / What ? | Lindley Murray – Writer & Grammarian |
| Why ? | An American Quaker and lawyer by training, Murray made Holgate, York, his home from 1784, and thereafter devoted his time to literary pursuits. His most famous writing is his English Grammar (1795), which proved immensely popular on both sides of the Atlantic for centuries. It has led to him being described as the ‘father of English grammar’. |
| Where? | Holgate House (No.163 Holgate), his former home |
| When? | 2026 – bicentenary of his death? |
Former Factory of Cooke, Troughton & Simms
A 1948 promotional film, available free on the BFI website.
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| FORMER FACTORY OF COOKE, TROUGHTON & SIMMS (1938-1988) | |
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| Who / What ? | Cooke, Troughton & Simms factory (former) – manufacturer of theodolites, microscopes and other optical tools |
| Why ? | Continued the tradition of manufacturing high-quality optical instruments as successor to Thomas Cooke Ltd, for which York was recognised as a world leader. Along with headquarters in Bishophill, the Haxby Road factory had over 1,000 employees – over 2,000 during the wartime |
| Where? | Former Buckingham Works, Bishophill, or the new Foss Park Hospital complex in Haxby Road – the site of former factory |
| When? | ?? Timed with opening of any major scientific or industrial business or initiative in York ?? |
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce by John Rising, c.1790.
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| WILLIAM WILBERFORCE (1759-1833) | |
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| Who / What ? | William Wilberforce – English politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade |
| Why ? | As an Independent MP for Yorkshire between 1784 and 1812, York was the centre of his political constituency. It was a place where he made important campaign speeches and participated in political hustings. His speeches and campaigns included the abolition of slavery, of which he was the driving force in the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, and later for the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 and the prevention of cruelty to animals; Wilberforce being a founder in 1824 of what became the RSPCA. |
| Where? | ‘The Eye of York(shire)’: located outside York’s Crown Court – renowned as a place for public protest and hustings in the County due to its meridian point for the historic ‘Ridings’ of Yorkshire. |
| When? | An anniversary of Acts of Parliament resulting from one of his leading campaigns; a C21 connection and/or continuity of Wilberforce’s campaign issues; urban regeneration of ‘The Eye of York(shire)’. |
St. Mary’s Home (for Girls)
7 Huntington Road
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| ST. MARY’S HOME (for Girls) (1903-1962) | |
| Who / What ? | Formerly ‘The Shelter’ (1903 to 1943) and St Mary’s Home (1943-1962). Originally a home for girls called ‘The Shelter’ run by the York Penitentiary Trust in Bishophill, York, moved to new premises on Huntington Road, York, in 1943 and was renamed ‘St Mary’s Home’ |
| Why ? | Evidence of York’s pre- and post-NHS welfare and/or penitentiary provision to address what were considered social issues of the day; addressing perceived social stigmas of being unmarried young mothers (sometimes called ‘the fallen’), and criminal behaviour as what were sometimes called ‘delinquents’ |
| Where? | 17-19 Bishophill; 17 Huntington Road |
| When? | 2023 marks 80 years since the opening of St Mary’s Home in Huntington Road |
Nevil Shute Norway
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| NEVIL SHUTE NORWAY (1899-1960) | |
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| Who / What ? | Nevil Shute (pen name) – Aeronautical Engineer and novelist |
| Why ? | His technical innovations included the Airspeed AS.5 Courier, the first British aircraft fitted with a retractable undercarriage to go into quantity production. Today he is better remembered for his novels, two of the most famous being A Town Like Alice (1950) and On the Beach (1957), which were made into successful films and for many epitomise the post-war and early Cold War periods. |
| Where? | Lived at 7 Clifton (‘Bootham Grange’ as it was; now the hotel ‘No 1 Clifton’) in 1931 and 1932 |
| When? | ?? Timed with TV serialisation or film release with one of his works ?? |