Future of historic Yorkshire building resolved using Claudia Lawrence law after last owner went missing

One Aldwark. built in the 1770s, is on one of the city’s oldest streets, first laid out in the 12th century inside the walls and close to The Shambles.

It eventually became a joiner’s workshop, and the Jewish family who owned the business opened the building as a synagogue in the 1890s – the first such place of worship in the 600 years since the city’s Jewish community had been massacred by a mob at Clifford’s Tower.

In 1975, the family gave up the joinery trade and sold the building, and it passed into the hands of Maurice Caley, who lived at The Farthings Hotel on Nunthorpe Road. He renovated and maintained the property until 1982, when work seems to have stopped. The adjoining building, number 3, which was originally part of the synagogue, became the RAF Association premises.

However, Maurice Caley, described as a ‘private man’, then went missing, and his family struggled to set his business affairs in order without proof of his death.

He had not been in touch with his brother for around 15 years, and it is thought he was last heard of after being admitted to hospital in 2017-18. There was an unconfirmed sighting in the hospital at this time, but no death certificate was ever issued.

In 2022 they were able to invoke ‘Claudia’s Law’ – an act introduced in 2017, coming into force two years later, which allows an individual to be declared deceased if they have been missing for 90 days and for a relative to manage their affairs.

Clauda Lawrence’s late father Peter and local MP Kevin Hollinrake campaigned for the change in the law after the University of York chef disappeared in 2009. She has never been found.

Mr Caley’s brother Trevor and Trevor’s wife Sue have now been appointed as guardians of Maurice’s money and estate, and are in the process of selling 1 Aldwark.

They were able to apply for the court order as the RAFA club had expressed concern about the building’s deterioration.

Solicitor Rachel Roche, whose York firm handled the case, said: “Each year in the UK an estimated 170,000 people are reported missing. This case was different because the missing person did not have many friends, no consistent job and no other family members so it was therefore more challenging to prove that he was missing from his usual place of residence and day to day activities, as required by the legislation.

“Our client was contacted by professionals searching for relatives of the derelict property that was causing problems for neighbours. Our client believed his brother could be dead.

“His brother, who was very private throughout his life, sold his marital home to buy 1 Aldwark in 1978 and worked on it until 1982 when he stopped, perhaps, due to issues with it being in a conservation area. The guardianship order was subsequently granted with the court expressing concern that without the order the property was, and would remain, uninsured.

“Whoever applies for guardianship over a missing person’s affairs needs to prove to the court that they have ‘sufficient interest’ in the missing person’s affairs. This case has attracted interest worldwide, as it involves a former synagogue with historic significance.”