YORK has lost yet another of the special shops which over the years have helped make the city centre different.

Burgins Perfumery, on the corner of St Helen’s Square and Coney Street, has closed after trading in the city for 137 years. It joins a long list of lost shops that include Mulberry Hall, Robson & Cooper, Cox’s Leather Shop and many more.

The world is changing, and shopping habits with them. But what a loss the disappearance of these characterful shops are. York is in danger of being swamped by coffee shops and chain stores: and the city centre is less interesting for it.