They climb across York – can you find them all?
One is tiptoeing along a rooftop. Another is about to pounce from a metal balcony. Several others are engaged in death-defying climbs up sheer vertical walls. Those cats get everywhere…
The infestation of cat statues in York began in a small way. In the 1920s, grocer Sir Stephen Aitcheson installed two – one black prowler, one ginger tom – on a building he owned on Low Ousegate. According to a newspaper article from the sixties, Sir Stephen’s goal was to catch the eye of passers-by, especially children. As the years went by, a couple more cats appeared. Then Tom Adams came along.
Info
Address The cats are dotted across York, www.catsinyork.com | Public Transport The best way is to walk the cat trail (see Tip) | Tip You can pick up two different York cat trail leaflets at York Glass Ltd, on Shambles, and at the Cat Gallery, on Low Petergate.
A talented architect, passionate defender of York’s historic fabric, and endless fund of good stories, Tom always added a small black cat to his architectural drawings. Then they grew from the page into three-dimensional statues, which adorned many of the buildings he designed or updated. First arriving in 1982, they were sculpted by city artist Jonathan Newdick, based on sketches he did on a visit to the local RSPCA animal home.
At one time there were 23 York cats to find, although three have gone missing in recent years. You can check them all out on the website catsinyork.com, but here are a few to look out for: Coney Street – a cat crouches on a window ledge on the second storey of one building, while another walks over a rooftop across the street (this one is best viewed from the opposite riverbank); St Andrewgate – one cat looks ready to make a leap from railings enclosing a second-floor balcony, while another close by climbs towards the roof of a building; Colliergate – on the shop front of the Barnitts home and garden store you’ll see a carving of a cat, and a statue gripping the brickwork above; Low Ousegate, where you can spot Sir Stephen’s pair of felines; and King’s Square – a black cat walks along the guttering, and now looks to be stalking a rubber pigeon, added by a mischievous plumber.
Back
To the online map