The Falcon is a historic pub on

Micklegate Micklegate is a street in the City of York, England. The name means "Great Street", "gate" coming from the Old Norse ''gata'', or street. Micklegate is described by York City Council as "one of the most handsome streets in Yorkshire", and was d ...

in the city centre of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, in England. The establishment originated as an inn named ''The Falcon'', in the 18th-century. It was first recorded in 1715, and in 1736,

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

named it one of two notable inns on the street. In 1818, William Hargrove described it as the most notable inn on the road. Its site stretched back to Tanner Row, where its stables were located. With the opening of

York railway station York railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) serving the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the sta ...

, the stagecoach trade declined, and the inn struggled. In 1842 and 1843, the site was redeveloped, being divided between a smaller pub (now 94 Micklegate) and a neighbouring house (now 96 Micklegate). The only surviving feature of the inn was a gilded carved figure of a falcon, acting as a pub sign. The Victorian buildings are of three storeys and an attic, and largely original sash windows above the ground floor. The pub also has a bay window on the first floor. There is a substantial

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

above the second floor. Inside, 96 Micklegate retains an original staircase, but the property has been converted into a shop. Since 1971, the pair of buildings has been

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 ...

. In 1981, a new cellar was added underneath the rear yard of the Falcon. In 2002, the pub was converted into a bar named "Rumours". However, in 2014 it returned to operating as a pub, under the name The Falcon Tap, and the original cellar was reopened. In 2017, permission was received to demolish modern rear extensions, and replace them with nine flats, and two more on the upper floors of the main building, while also halving the area of the bar. By 2018, it was listed in the ''

Good Beer Guide The ''Good Beer Guide'' is a book published annually by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), listing what it considers to be the best 4,500 real ale outlets (pubs, clubs, and off-licences) in the United Kingdom. Details The content of the ''Guid ...

''. In 2018, it was purchased by Almero Holdings and closed unexpectedly for conversion into an aparthotel, intending to retain the pub on the ground floor. In 2022, it reopened, as "The Falcon", run by the owners of the Turning Point Brewery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon Tap, The Buildings and structures completed in 1843 Micklegate Grade II listed pubs in York