York residents fear public access to historic King's Manor will be restricted after cafe closure

Grade I-listed King's Manor is occupied by the University of York, who use the 15th-century complex for teaching and research purposes.

Currently, a cafe inside the medieval refectory is open to the public - but this will close on February 14 and there is limited access for visitors to the remainder of the building.

Auction of contents of Yorkshire's only Napoleonic fort will see plane, artillery and human skeleton put up for saleMany area of the site are only open to students and staff, although the public can walk around the grounds and courtyard.

King Henry VIII, King James I and King Charles I all stayed at King's Manor - the former for 12 days with his fifth wife Catherine Howard as part of a royal tour.

It was originally the residence of the abbot of St Mary's Abbey, the ruins of which still stand in Museum Gardens. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it became the headquarters of the Council of the North, which dispensed Crown justice in the northern territories.

It was the home of the Governor of York between 1677 and 1688, after which it was hired out to private tenants.

From 1813 until 1922, it was leased to the Manor School - one of its most famous pupils was Anne Lister, the subject of the BBC period drama Gentleman Jack. Anne, the heiress to the Shibden Hall estate near Halifax, first experimented with same-sex relationships while a boarder at the school.

Wentworth Woodhouse to become Yorkshire's snowdrop capital with 40 acres of stunning displaysA school for blind children occupied the buildings until 1958, when City of York Council purchased and restored the manor. The university have been tenants since 1963.

Former City of York councillor Keith Myers, who runs the York Walls Twitter account, posted a photo of a notice announcing the cafe's closure and expressed fears that the refectory - which once served as the council chamber - would be out of bounds to visitors in future.

"The closure of the refectory cafe will deny residents and visitors access to this fabulous council-owned historic property. This is very bad news for all of us who love King's Manor, but don't have the privilege of working or studying there."

However, the University of York have confirmed that a new cafe will open in another part of the building in around eight months' time.

A spokesperson said:-

"We are closing the cafe on February 14 and relocating it to a new site within King's Manor. The new cafe, which will be open to the public, should be open by the end of the summer."

King's Manor is also a wedding, conference and events venue.