Clementhorpe today is a pleasant part of York in which to live. But in the late 19th century it was very different - a veritable hive of industry.

There was the old Terry’s Confectionery Works, of course - plus the large Co-op depot and DeLittle’s Printing Works. But there were many other industries operating down near the riverside. Local entrepreneurs manufactured everything from confectionery to boats, textiles and leather products, ironwork, food and drink. There was even a chemical manure factory.

John Stevens of the Clements Hall Local History Group, which has been researching the area's industrial past for its latest book 'Made in Clementhorpe: exploring York’s industrial history', said the group began researching the area's industrial history after looking at the 1892 Ordnance Survey map of York. "It shows Clementhorpe, perhaps nearing the peak of its industrial development, with a number of intriguing land uses, where there are now only houses and apartments,” he said.

Clementhorpe then would have been a very different place from the one we know today, the history group says. It would have been noisy, dirty and smelly. The air would have been thick with coal smoke; the roads - largely unsurfaced - muddy and sometimes filthy. Large numbers of horses would have used the streets, and many local residents also kept livestock. Drains and watercourses would have flowed with 'unmentionable liquids'. The sounds and smells of industrial processes would have filled the air.

York Press:

A row of horses and carts outside Terry's works at Clementhorpe, 1900s. Picture: Explore York

Shipbuilding has taken place on the river bank since medieval times, and a slipway was built at the corner of Terry Avenue and Clementhorpe in 1836 by the Ouse Navigation Trustees. It was equipped with powerful winches and chains, and could accommodate a vessel up to 215 feet long. The Slip Inn, first recorded in 1840 as a beerhouse and rebuilt in about 1902, is the last surviving reminder of the old shipyard.

So it's only fitting that it will be at the Slip Inn that Made In Clementhorpe, the fourth book in the history group's award-winning series looking at the area's past, will be launched, on September 20. It will be on sale then at local pubs and shops, priced £8.