Ye Olde Starre Inne black plaque

This black commemorative plaque records: York's oldest licensed inn, established 1644 the inn used to be a posting house (a post for changing coach horses. But not necessarily as an office for posting letters). Before 1733 it was open to Stonegate. Being accessed by gates into the street at the rear, stabling extended to an entrance in the present Duncombe Place at the end of the Starre Inne passage is Starre Yard, where there was once a well, this was the only local supply of pure water for many generations. The well would have supplied water to the inn's own brewhouse the courtyard has a peculiar acoustic feature... from the yard one of York Minster's towers can be seen and it is said that when at the top of the tower, in favourable weather conditions, the conversations of people in the yard can be heard

Ye Olde Starre Inne, established in 1644, is York's oldest licensed inn and once served as a posting house for changing coach horses. Its courtyard well was the sole source of pure water for many generations.