YORK Dungeon is renaming its tavern The Goose & Gallows in honour of York's most problematic bird and most notorious occupant of the hangman's noose.

York is said to have 365 pubs, one for each day of the year, and now there is a new name on the list, after the Clifford Street visitor attraction changed the signage of its historically-themed tavern from Ye Olde Yorke Inn.

York Dungeon marketing executive Simon Alnaimi said: "We wanted a name that evoked York’s past and present all into one and, at the same time, we were discussing making September a month of celebration of Dick Turpin. As part of this, we decided to make a nod towards his famous death in York, hanged on the Tyburn gallows at Knavesmire, and the 'Goose' part was because no other animal is as synonymous with York."

John Andrews, York Dungeon's Dick Turpin, was joined at the renaming ceremony by University of York historian Professor Jim Sharpe, who has spent years researching Turpin and in 2017 partnered with the Dungeon to question the true whereabouts of the escapee Essex highwayman’s final resting place.

The renaming is all part of York Dungeon’s “Month of Dick Turpin” in September, marking his 313th birthday on September 21, with the aim of raising awareness of one of history’s most infamous characters and, in particular, his connection with York.

Prof Sharpe said: "For most people, [he was] the most famous felon to have been hanged in York in the 18th century. Dick Turpin was arrested in Yorkshire, tried at the York assizes and paraded up Micklegate to be executed at York's Knavesmire, while his fictional yet epic ride from London to York on Black Bess remains an almost universally known story. Turpin the man and, perhaps more importantly, Turpin the legend will remain vital elements in York's rich heritage."

The Goose & Gallows is now open.