YORK will soon welcome the first new traditional butcher's shop within the city walls since the closure of Shambles Butchers four years ago.

Independent pork butchers Appleton’s are to open a new shop in Lendal in mid-October.

Established in Ripon in 1867, Appleton’s are best-known for their handmade pork pies, which have locals queuing round Ripon’s market square and are beloved by Prince Charles.

It specialises in pork products like cured whole hams, sausage rolls, Scotch eggs, faggots and cooked meats such as roast ham.

The central York shop will also offer charcuterie, pork rillettes and pâtés, and for the brave, ox tongue, still pickled, boiled and hand pressed using methods handed down from the original Appleton’s family.

Appleton’s owner Anthony Sterne, whose father was also a butcher, said: "Opening a specialist pork butchers in York has long been a dream of ours.

"Mr Appleton’s original principle was selecting Yorkshire’s finest meats for the people of Ripon, and now we’re offering something unique to the people of York.

"We want to celebrate York’s food heritage and we’re starting with pies, which we bake onsite throughout the day. We have big food ambitions and we want to revive the art of making traditional York Ham, which is currently on Slow Food’s list of endangered traditional foods."

The last traditional butcher's shop within the Bar Walls was Shambles Butchers, in Little Shambles, which closed in 2012.