Comments on: St Lawrence WMC and ‘studentification’ http://yorkstories.co.uk/st-lawrence-wmc-studentification/ A resident's record of York and its changes Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:45:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.38 By: Lisa @YorkStories http://yorkstories.co.uk/st-lawrence-wmc-studentification/#comment-650851 Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:56:46 +0000 http://yorkstories.co.uk/?p=10412#comment-650851 Thanks for your description and memories of the place Mike, really interesting and much appreciated.
There’s an update page on the decision about the planning application (approved, as expected): Perspectives on a council meeting: WMC planning application

]]> By: Mike Kettlewell http://yorkstories.co.uk/st-lawrence-wmc-studentification/#comment-650685 Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:34:12 +0000 http://yorkstories.co.uk/?p=10412#comment-650685 I popped into the Tam, for the very first time, last January. I’d always wanted to call in but, like many I’ve spoken to, I’d been put off by an ill gotten reputation. As I’d walked back from the Borthwick, had a couple of hours to kill and was a little thirsty, I grasped the nettle and went in, and I was so glad that I did. The time was around 3:30 and there were about a dozen people in: aged between mid 50s to 70s, of both sexes. Everyone seemed to know each other and rather than sitting with their own little groups, people moved around and mingled. It had more of a feel of a social club or to what is now referred to as a ‘community pub.’ If my intention had been to pop in for a swift one while sitting in the corner, hiding behind a newspaper, then I would have been disappointed. From the moment I walked in, there were no turning of heads and long stares for this stranger, rather, I was greeted by an old lady, sitting near the door, who said, ‘Come in darling and close the door behind you.’ The elderly barman was equally friendly, as was the Council bin man stood at the bar. Over the course of the next hour and a half, every single person in the pub either came over and spoke to me, some out of curiosity over who this stranger was, or invited me to sit down with them for a natter. As time went on, more locals came in: some who’d just finished work and others who just popped in to have a glass with their friends. There were many descendants of the post Walmgate clearances there and I remember thinking that someone should really get their stories and memories written down before they’re diluted or lost forever.

The overall impression that I got was that this was their local and apart from the Tam, they rarely went to other pubs. A few of them had been regulars at the Five Lions but since the changes and rebranding there, they no longer felt welcome.

I reluctantly left at 5pm, hoping to return on a future trip back to my home City. If it’s closed, the next time I visit, then it will be a small loss to me, as it’s not my local. But it’s those kind, friendly, down to earth people that I worry about: where will they have gone on to? There’s so much more to a pub than the building, fixtures and fittings (although, to me, those are reasons enough to save this place) but people make pubs and I feel so privileged to have been welcomed into the Tam by a smashing group of people.

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