Two York history groups merge to bring city’s past to a wider audience

Two of York’s local history groups have agreed to merge.

Clements Hall Local History Group, which covers the Scarcroft, Clementhorpe and South Bank areas of York, is merging with the Bishophill History Group.

The new group will still be Clements Hall Local History Group, but the two groups have agreed to share their mutual area interests.

Colin Hinchcliffe, from the Bishophill History Group, said “Our group has been mainly a small social group, but Bishophill is an area of York with a vast wealth of history, dating back to Roman times.

“Indeed it might be regarded as an area reflecting some of the most distinctive historical layers in the country. 

“We recognised that our group did not ‘own’ our area’s history and that the energy and skills of the Clements Hall group members would bring Bishophill’s history to a wider audience.”

As well as the more traditional area known as Bishophill, the merged group will also include the area inside the city walls, west of the River Ouse, and north of Micklegate.

So their area of interest will be bounded by the river to the east and the City Walls, from Baile Hill to Wellington Row.

Anne Houson, Chair of the Clements Hall Local History Group said “Bishophill History Group has already explored a number of varied themes, for example Roman Bishophill, T Cooke’s Instruments and the Buckingham Works, and Richard Chicken, the model for Dickens’ Micawber character.

“They also arranged a ceremony to remember Private George Ellison, born in Skeldergate, who was the last British soldier killed in the First World War.” 

The publicity for the event led to the group finding a bugler whose last post, one hour before the national commemoration, provided a fitting tribute to the local hero, who had survived the war from the Expeditionary Force landing, which opened the war, to his death, one hour before the ceasefire.

The Clements Hall Group has been busy drawing up notes on the historic periods and themes of interest about Bishophill and the area west of Micklegate, inside the city walls.

These topics are many and varied, from pubs and coaching inns, architecture, railways, public health and cholera, prostitution, to old schools and almshouses, shops, bridges, steamships, riverside warehouses and mills.

Details of all these historical themes are on their website.