The Blue Boar is a pub on Castlegate in the city centre of York, in England. The Blue Boar was a Mediaeval inn on the street. Among its guests were Roger Cottam, envoy to

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509), also known as Henry Tudor, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henr ...

, and many Royalist soldiers preparing for the

Siege of York The siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the First English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter army and the Parliamentarian armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association, and the Royalist Ar ...

. It was demolished in about 1730 and replaced by the current building, along with the neighbouring 1 and 3 Castlegate. A tradition states that the body of

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

was kept in the cellar of the pub overnight, after his execution, and that the landlord of the pub allowed patrons to see the body, for a small fee. An additional tradition claims that Turpin's ghost haunts the pub. In 1770, the Robin Hood pub opened on the street, probably as a direct replacement for the Blue Boar, although it is not certain whether it occupied the same building. It became an important coaching inn, with coaches running daily to Hull and Leeds, and from 1816 also to Selby, along with less regular routes to Richmond, Barnard Castle, Howden and Bubwith. In

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's novel, ''

The Heart of Midlothian ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' is the seventh of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley Novels. It was originally published in four volumes on 25 July 1818, under the title of ''Tales of My Landlord, 2nd series'', and the author was given as "Jedediah Clei ...

'', the Seven Stars pub is thought to be based on the Robin Hood. The front of the pub was rebuilt in 1851, including a carriage arch leading to former stables at the rear, and the pub was extended into part of 3 Castlegate. In about 1894, the pub was again renamed, as the Little John. It has since been internally rebuilt, and an extension added. In 1971, it was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, along with the attached cast iron carriage gates. In the early 21st century, the pub was owned by

Enterprise Inns Ei Group plc, formerly known as Enterprise Inns plc, was the largest pub company in the UK, with around 4,000 properties, predominantly run as leased and tenanted pubs. Ei Group plc was headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands. It was listed o ...

and described itself as being "gay-friendly". It closed in 2011, but reopened the following year, returning to the Blue Boar name.

References

{{coord, 53.95744, -1.08129, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade II listed pubs in York