COULD a blue plaque celebrating one of York's famous sons be in the wrong place?

That's the question facing historians as they investigate the exact location of the birthplace of Joseph Hansom, the York-born inventor of the Hansom cab, the forerunner of today's taxi. Hansom was also an architect. There is an original Hansom cab in York Castle Museum

In 2017, one of York Civic Trust's blue plaques was unveiled to honour Hansom at what was believed to have been his birthplace in Micklegate.

The building - the former Brigantes Bar and Brasserie at 114 Micklegate - had long been recorded as the location of Hansom's birth and where it was believed he had lived with his family.

But historian and author John Daffurn has thrown a spanner into the works with new research. He believes that Hansom was in fact born a short distance away in St Martin's Lane and it was in fact Joseph's grandfather Richard who lived at 114 Micklegate.

John has recently published a historical paper outlining his argument and sharing his sources - and is calling on the York Civic Trust to correct the error and move the plaque.

John told The Press: "The error started in the magazine The Builder which wrote Hansom's obituary."

He added: "I don't like historical facts remaining incorrect."

He said Hansom's address in St Martin's Lane no longer exits, but the plaque could be moved to the corner of the street.

Duncan Marks, of York Civic Trust, said the organisation welcomed further investigation and would look to move the plaque if necessary.

In a good humoured reply, Duncan told The Press: "It's always wonderful when any of the Civic Trust's 150-odd blue plaques in the city capture public imagination, inspires people to dig deeper and investigate the past, and we always hail new research. It reminds us that history is a vehicle for ongoing discussion that the past inspires in us.

"The hypothesis that Hansom was born a short trot around the corner from, and not on, Micklegate is an intriguing one. Going head-to-head with such rank and respected authorities as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the Royal Commission on Historic Monuments and Nikolaus Pevsner would be a real scoop, if proof can be flagged down - and, if so, we'd be pleased to look into transferring the plaque accordingly.

"The definitive answer, if it still exists, is most likely in the archives and here in the city rather than online: in Parish Records held a short journey away at the Borthwick, picked up in title deeds of the properties in question, or in any notes taken by the Royal Commission in the 1960s during their charge to assess No.63 (now No.114) Micklegate.

"We'll now make further inquiries and work with any anyone who can help deliver evidential answers.

"Given how Joseph Hansom is most famous for inventing the Hansom Cab - the taxi vehicle of choice in the 19th century - we do hope he'd be at least amused by difficulties in locating his own address."

The Trust has been placing plaques in York since the late 1940s.

It is not the first time the Trust has been asked to change one of its plaques.

York Civic Trust was engulfed in a row in 2019 over the plaque to Anne Lister - aka TV's Gentleman Jack - at Holy Trinity Church in Goodramgate, because it referred to her as "gender nonconforming" rather than "lesbian".

The plaque commemorated Easter Sunday, 1834, when Anne received what she considered a blessing of her ‘marriage’ to the woman she regarded as her wife, Ann Walker. This was said to be a key moment in LGBT+ history, 180 years before same-sex marriage was legalised in England.

But the wording of the Trust's original blue plaque prompted strong criticism, with one person tweeting “please don’t ignore that Anne Lister was a lesbian” and an online petition against the wording gathered more than 2,000 signatures.

The original plaque read: "Anne Lister 1791-1840. Gender-nonconforming entrepreneur. Celebrated marital commitment, without legal recognition, to Ann Walker in this church Easter, 1834".

However, it was later replaced with a reworded plaque that read : "Anne Lister 1791-1840 of Shibden Hall, Halifax. Lesbian and Diarist; took sacrament here to seal her union with Ann Walker, Easter 1834."