A HISTORIC city centre pub - which is said to be haunted - is set to reopen later this week after a major refurbishment.

The Hole in the Wall, in High Petergate, closed on June 17 for a revamp.

It is set to open its doors again on Thursday lunchtime.

Manager Sarah Robshaw said staff hope customers will enjoy the pub’s fresh new look.

Updates include a refurbished bar area, new furniture, carpets and revamped toilets.

The venue has also been fully redecorated and the menu has been overhauled.

Sarah said she is looking forward to welcoming back regulars, as well as new customers, adding: “It’s much fresher.

“It was in need of updating, it needed a good freshen up.

“We have got a full new menu but we have also kept a lot of the traditional favourites.”

The pub is owned by Marston’s breweries and has 17 members of staff.

Sarah added that the building used to be the site of a prison and there is still a window at the pub through which prisoners used to be fed.

The pub's name is thought to refer to prisoners having to beg for food through a hole in the wall.

The pub used to be called The Board Inn and is believed to be haunted.

A history of the building, on display at the pub, says: “In 1816 excavations of The Board Inn revealed a dark secret. A hole was found which led to a dungeon, where chains and manacles hung.

“A tunnel, also found, was bricked up by a superstitious builder because of accounts of eerie footsteps that echoed from the darkness.

“These footsteps, it is claimed, can still be heard today.

“In 1501 a knocker was placed on the door of Bootham Bar so that the Scottish persons who were wishful to enter should knock first and ask permission from the Lord Mayor, an order which is still believed to be in force today.”