Shopping
York started as it meant to go on when the Romans created the first outpost here in 71AD. Civilian life included entertainment, enjoyment and particularly shopping, and it is believed that Coney Street ran along the riverbank and was lined with shops just as it is today. Real consumerism came with the Vikings in the 10th Century, who were intent on making York the trading capital of their kingdom. The rivers Ouse and Foss provided vital trading links and today’s street names indicate what was for sale where: Swinegate and Coppergate (the street of coopers or barrel makers) are obvious examples.
The evidence of York’s medieval shopping habits is plain to see. The Shambles is one of the best-preserved shopping streets in Europe, and although it’s now lined with cheerful craft shops and quirky gift shops, it’s not hard to picture the noisy, smelly, chaotic jumble of butchers’ shops which once lined the narrow street. In Georgian times York vied with London as one of England’s most fashionable places to live and the elegance of the shops reflected the affluence of their customers. Many of York’s most noteworthy shop signs date from the 18th or early 19th century and examples of Victorian and Edwardian shop-fronts abound. Many street scenes from this era are beautifully recreated at York Castle Museum.
Today, shopping is one of York’s main attractions. The city centre has a vast array of shops – many of them unique to York – selling everything from fine china and heraldic art to handcrafted souvenirs, unusual books, antiques and designer clothes. And of course they sit alongside York’s magnificent historical buildings, so shopping and sightseeing are easily combined.
Art and Interiors
If you’re looking for interior design ideas or on the lookout for one or two signature pieces to make a statement in your home, you’ll find York is full of inspiration.
Along Gillygate call into Collection for stylish furniture: the Adze Gallery and Sculpture Garden for original, contemporary artworks for your house or garden; Shine for bits and pieces like slate picture frames, contemporary ceramics and decorative glass; Halo for, amongst other things, absolutely fantastical lamps and lampshades made to commission; and if you’re redesigning the children’s bedrooms, Moo is a must!
In the Swinegate Quarter browse around Porcupine for pine furniture and everything from clocks to candle snuffers. If you favour a French feel to your home head for Micklegate, where The French House is a positive bonbonniere of gilt mirrors, ornate lighting and wicked beds.
Just off King’s Square, on Colliergate, Barnitts has been in York for years. But its new first floor Modern Living showroom has turned what was once a glorified hardware shop into one of the most fashionable stores in town, with stylish Italian and Le Corbusier furniture. And in the Coppergate Centre, Fenwicks’ kitchen department takes some beating.
Antique and Book Dealers
York is renowned for its veritable army of antique and book dealers. On the corner of Duncombe Place, Red House Antiques occupies one of York’s finest Georgian houses, now inhabited by over 60 dealers selling everything from furniture to jewellery, with especially good art deco and nouveau collections. On Stonegate The Antiques Centre has one of the best collections in the North of England and staff have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the stock. Across the road, Cavendish Antique and Collectors Centre has over 50 showcases specialising in jewellery, and for collectors of period English jewellery, a visit to Barbara Cattle is a must. York Antique Centre in Lendal, the Mulberry Bush in Goodramgate and Ruth Ford Antiques on Fossgate should also be on every antique hunter’s trail of York.
Antiquarian book dealers include Minster Gate Book Shop, which also sells prints, maps and engraving, Ken Spelman’s on Micklegate, run by ex-students of York University, and Janette Ray Rare Books on Gillygate, which specialises in architectural, design and garden books.
Jewellery
There can be few cities better than York if you are on the hunt for interesting, original designer jewellery. This is the perfect place to come for a romantic weekend, especially if you are searching for an engagement ring…
Porta Dextra on Bootham, Monkey Puzzle on High Petergate and Shine on Gillygate all showcase affordable, funky designer jewellery. Also on Gillygate, but with higher price tags, Robert Feather sells beautiful and original pieces.
Clothes and Fashion
Perhaps it’s the Italian influence of the Romans who made this their Northern capital 2,000 years ago. Or the stylish Georgians who moved to York in their droves in the 18th century. Whatever the reason, York has always attracted affluent and stylish shoppers, for whom appearance is everything. Just take a look at the line-up of designer labels you will find here, all within walking distance of each other, so you don’t have to carry your bags too far!
A stroll down Low Petergate can inflict serious damage on your bank balance, as La Perla, Claudia Strater and Save the Queen beckon from Giselle. And can you pass by Paul Smith or sister shop Sarah Coggles without looking? Just off this street in the Swinegate Quarter, Chinelli Shoes and its men’s outlet across the alleyway sell shoes to die for.
On Blake Street you’ll find Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Fendi, D&G, Prada and others in Van Mildert. Nearby, the fashion departments of York’s famous department store Browns include Alexon, Jacques Vert, Aquascutum and more, and in Coppergate, Fenwicks stocks Betty Barclay, Max Mara, Coast and Morgan.
All this, and all the familiar high street names too – Ghost, Coast, Whistles, Zara (all new for 2007), Jigsaw, Benetton, Gap, Monsoon, Hobbs, – the list is endless. And if you want to snap up fashion bargains hop on a red line Park and Ride bus to the York Designer Outlet on the outskirts of town for over 100 more shops to choose from.
Specialist Shops
Specialist shops are many and varied in York. For ethical shopping go to Shared Earth on Petergate, packed full of fair trade goods, from clothes to cushions, cards to coffee. If you’re crazy about cats you’ll find purrfect presents at the Cat Gallery on Low Petergate. Miniature Scene in Fossgate is full of everything to do with dolls’ houses. At Heraldic Art and Design in the Shambles you can have your family name woven into a coat of arms, and further along the street is Monk Bar Chocolatiers.
And what a delight to find Duttons for Buttons – one of the world’s very few remaining gorgeously old-fashioned shops, just brimming with trimmings – go mad in here and transform your wardrobe for under a fiver!
Museum Shops
Museum shops are often full of original ideas, and with over 30 museums and visitor attractions in York, there are plenty to choose from.
Among the best are the Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum (especially for books about York and local history) and Fairfax House, with beautiful china and decorative household ranges.
The National Railway Museum has gone one step further, by opening a shop right in the city centre (the museum itself is just beyond the station on Leeman Road), full of fun, railway-related goodies for all ages.
JORVIK’s stylish new shop on Coppergate sells bespoke and exclusive ceramics, linen tableware, glassware, jewellery and stationery decorated with Viking and Anglo Saxon designs.
No northern shopping experience is complete without a market and York is no exception. The fabulous and sprawling Newgate Market is open every day and sells everything imaginable!
Park and Ride services all around York’s ring road are efficient and economical, and keep the city centre streets quieter, cleaner and altogether more pleasant.
York’s Shopping Streets At A Glance
The Shambles – one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. Although none of the original shop-fronts have survived from medieval times, some properties still have exterior wooden shelves, reminders of when cuts of meat were served from the open windows. The street was made narrow by design to keep the meat out of direct sunlight, but you can readily imagine the Shambles packed with people and awash with offal and discarded bones. Today the beautiful old buildings have been restored and now house cheerful cafes, quirky boutiques, a heraldry shop and even a coin & stamp dealer.
One of York’s prettiest streets, Stonegate, has a wide variety of top class shops within its Medieval and Georgian architecture, including the world famous Mulberry Hall, Inglis Jewellers and a teddy bear shop. Leading to the Minster from St Helen’s Square, this was originally the ‘Via Pretoria’, or principal road of Roman York.
Fossgate was the home of the fish market in medieval times and the ancient St Deny’s Church, off Walmgate, was known as the fishmongers Church. It was also known as Tricksters Lane after the unscrupulous traders who set up shops there. These days it is far more respectable, although it retains a certain bohemian charm, with restaurants including the renowned Blue Bicycle, second-hand bookshops, antique shops, the Miniature Dolls House shop and furniture. Mysterious tunnels in Fossgate, discovered when a pub was demolished in the early 1960s, are now thought to be the Roman sewer system.
Home of the oldest row of houses in York, and possibly the country, Goodramgate dates from the 14th century and today houses a selection of individual shops, including the Egyptian Shop, the Canopy (a wonderful interiors shop), the National Trust shop, a specialist beer shop and great pubs.
Petergate was named after the Minster, which is dedicated to St Peter. Gift shops line both sides of High Petergate from Bootham to its junction with Stonegate, and this is the place to find some of the city’s best ‘designer’ shops such as Sarah Coggles and Paul Smith. The Cat Gallery is another example of York’s unique shops – the purrfect place for cat lovers! For the best Yorkshire produce, the very famous Yorkshire ‘Scott’s Butchers’ shop is a favourite with locals and tourists alike.
A stone’s throw from the Minster, in the former medieval swine-market and red light district, Little Stonegate, Back Swinegate and Grape Lane (for obvious reasons, once known as Grope Lane) make up the area now known as the Swinegate Quarter, where unique shops – Italian designer shoes, jewellery, beauticians – wine bars and cafes line the cobbled streets and snickleways, as well as the city’s oldest print works and the famous Medieval Barley Hall.
One of the brightest and best daily open-air markets in the North of England, Newgate Market features over 120 stalls selling everything from locally grown fruit and vegetables, fish and meat, but also a wide variety of clothes, crafts and gifts. The market is now open 7 days per week, closing only on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Throughout the year, York also hosts a series of specialist and event markets in Parliament Street, including Farmer Markets, Craft Markets, Continental Markets, Charity Markets and the infamous St Nicholas Fayre Christmas Market. Press contact: Paul Barrett, Tel 01904 551355, email paul.barrett@york.gov.uk
For any further information and your free guide to York please contact: York Visitor Information Centre, Tel: 01904 550099, email: info@visityork.org or visit the website at www.visityork.org
Press contact: Kay Hyde, PR Manager - Visit York, Tel: 01904 554451, email: kh@visityork.org website: www.visityork.org