Stonegate, City of York, Yorkshire, England, ca 1950s-1960s
First mentioned as early as 1118 AD, Stonegate was built on the Via Praetoria, a Roman road, and accessed through a gateway called Porta Praetoria, now under St. Helens Square. It is thought that the name was derived from the stone brought by boat from quarries near Tadcaster to a landing place near where the Guildhall stands today. That stone was used to construct the Minster. It is also possible that the name comes from the original stone road built by the Romans.
The street was once called the “Street of the Printers,’” because during the 16th century and was well known for books shops and printers. Although several signs can be seen on the postcard picture one of the more famous ones is missing. It is of a chained, red devil, and sits at the top of the door to number 33. The devil is a reference to the boys who were apprenticed or assistants to the printer and had the job of carrying hot metal type. According to folklore, every print shop was haunted by a mischief-maker, one blamed for misspelled words, removal of lines, or inverted type. The printer’s assistant thus acquired the nickname “the printer’s devil.”
Today Stonegate is home to interesting little shops selling things from jewelry to teddy bears. Books stores can still be found there as well. From the picture on the card it looks like a person would step back in time or into a Harry Potter scene walking along the street.
This card, like several others shared, comes from the travel collection received from J & K. Thank you, they are much appreciated.
For additional information, see:
http://www.york-united-kingdom.co.uk/stonegate/
http://secretyork.com/the-stonegate-devil/
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