Seek out this little devil in York
Along Stonegate from York Minster and a 5 minute walk from the famous shambles, you’ll find this little devil perched at the side of number 33 Stonegate.
Back in the 16th Century, Stonegate was famous for its book shops and printers.
The devil here is believed to have advertised the location of a printing business. The term “printer’s devil” is a nickname for a printer’s assistant. As, of course, any mistakes that would occur would surely be caused by the devil!
Number 33 Stonegate has been grade II* listed since 1954.
It’s been said that looking directly into the imp’s eyes would cause misfortune to the onlooker, so don’t look too closely!
BONUS
The devil is at the entrance to Coffee Yard snickelway, which is the longest snickelway in York at 67 metres long.
The word Snickelway was coined by local author Mark W. Jones in 1983 in his book A Walk Around the Snickelways of York, and is a portmanteau of the words snicket, meaning a passageway between walls or fences, and alleyway, a narrow street or lane.
Where
33 Stonegate, York, Y01 8AW
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