22–26 Blossom Street

22–26 Blossom Street is a historic building immediately west of the city centre of York, in England. The building was constructed on Blossom Street in 1789. It was built for the wine merchant John Horner, as a pair of houses, with a central passageway leading to a warehouse at the rear. Horner lived in the smaller of the two houses, and leased the larger to another wine merchant. The building was altered in the early 19th century. Later residents included the architects Charles Watson and James Pigott Pritchett, and the shopkeeper Joseph Rowntree and his family. In 1888 it was purchased by the North Eastern Railway (NER), which used the larger house as the residence of the stationmaster at York railway station, and the smaller house for one of its inspectors. In 1934 the NER's successor sold the property for conversion into the York Railwaymen's Club. The two houses were combined, the dividing walls on the ground floor of the larger house being demolished, along with all the first floor dividing walls. The entire property was grade II listed in 1971. The building was later used as the New York Working Men's Club. This closed in 2019, and the building was converted into seven holiday lets, with a further seven in a newly constructed block at the rear. The building is constructed of painted brick, with a slate roof. It is three storeys high and five bays wide, and almost all the windows are sashes. There is a timber entablature from bays 1 to 3, supported to the left by a pilaster and to the right by pilasters either side of the entrance. To the left are three cellar entrances, now partly blocked. There is a lead rainwater head and downpipe, a dentilled and modillioned cornice gutter, and two chimneys. Inside, some fittings in a Regency style survive, probably designed by Watson or Pritchett.

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Odeon Cinema, York

The Odeon Cinema is a Grade II listed building immediately west of the city centre of York, in England. The Odeon Cinemas chain was keen to build a cinema in York, but it could not gain permission to construct a large building within the York city walls. Initial plans were toned down, and the resulting building is almost entirely of brown brick, with none of the tiles which often feature in Harry Weedon's work. Following these changes, permission was granted to build on Blossom Street, just outside the walls. The building opened as an Odeon Cinema on 1 February 1937. It was designed by Harry Weedon, with the assistance of Robert Bullivant, and with interiors attributed to Lily Deutsch. The construction cost £40,500. On opening, it had 1,484 seats: 934 in the stalls and 550 on the balcony. In 1972, it was converted to have three screens, with the balcony extended forward to form one 800-seat space and the rear of the former stalls split into two smaller screens, each with 111 seats. It was listed in 1981. The building is in the Art Deco style, and has a low front range, with a three-storey range behind, a tower to the left, and two-storey wings on either side. Part of the front range is occupied by shops. The tower retains an illuminated "Odeon" sign, rendered in Roman capital letters, not the chain's usual style. Odeon planned to close the cinema in 2003, with a 13,000-name petition leading to a short reprieve. It closed in 2006, but reopened in 2009 as part of the Reel Cinemas chain. In 2017, it was purchased by Everyman Cinemas and renovated to accommodate four screens, each with sofa seating. The official listing notes that "the architecture ... is well designed and executed, and is a good example of Odeon cinema design" and that original windows survive, along with some original design elements and ancillary rooms. John Brooke Fieldhouse describes it as having "... the overall texture of a building belonging to an ancient civilisation".

Art Landmark

Blossom Street

Blossom Street is a road in York, in England, immediately west of the city centre.

Neighbourhood

Bar Convent

The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, at Micklegate Bar, York, England, established in 1686, is the oldest surviving Catholic convent in the British Isles. The laws of England at this time prohibited the foundation of Catholic convents and as a result of this, the convent was both established and operated in secret. While pretending to be widows, the foundation opened the first school for girls in the country in Hammersmith, London, in 1679 and the second here at the Bar Convent. Today, the Bar Convent is a popular York destination for tourists and offers bed and breakfast accommodation, meeting rooms, a gift shop, café and museum exhibition about the Convent's history.

Church Landmark

Windmill Inn

The Windmill Inn is a pub on Blossom Street, immediately west of the city centre of York, in England. The oldest part of the pub is on the corner of Blossom Street and Queen Street, although until 1911 another building separated it from Queen Street. Dating from the late-17th century, it was constructed as two cottages and was probably part of reconstruction in the area following the Siege of York. This section is brick built, but with timber framed internal partitions. It contains early chimney breasts and a mid-18th century staircase, and the bay windows at the front date from 1785 or earlier, though they have been heavily altered. The building is first recorded as the "Windmill Inn" in a deed of 1735. At the time, it was owned by the Lee family, who had previously leased a windmill near the top of The Mount. Soon after the purchase, it was extended south along Blossom Street, and then in 1820 a further extension was added to the south, incorporating a carriage arch into the hotel's yard. A stable range was also added, behind the main range. In about 1890, the building was extended to the west, along Queen Street, with the extension incorporating parts of a mid-18th century building including its staircase, and doors dating to about 1840. When the inn was sold in 1867, it was advertised as one of the oldest in the city, and having stabling for 65 horses, with a total value of £800. Trade increased with the opening of York railway station nearby, and in 1893 it sold for £3,750, including a neighbouring brewhouse. By 1902, it had 21 bedrooms available, and it began catering to cyclists and motor car drivers. Legend holds that the pub is haunted by the ghost of a girl who was run over by a brewer's cart, and also by an ostler. A mysterious cold mist has been said to have been experienced. The York Press has listed the pub as one of the five most haunted in the city. As of 2022, the pub is owned by Greene King. Since 1968, the building has been grade II listed.

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