Minerva, the Stonegate Devil and the Siren

Three more quirky York treasures.

Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and trade has perched on this corner since 1801, over what was originally a bookshop.

The devil was a symbol associated with printing presses and Stonegate was once the centre of York's printing life. The devil was known to haunt printing shops, misspelling words or removing type but this particular demon is chained to the wall preventing him causing any mischief!

The siren is a figure from the quarter gallery of a 17th century ship. It has been attached to this building for several hundred years but no one seems to know why or by whom.