Banks of York: Britain's oldest music shop which has traded in York since 1756 to close

Banks is now part of the Musicroom brand, and the company is to close six of its UK stores and focus on only its London shop and online business.

Banks is known to generations of York musicians for its large selection of both instruments and sheet music. Its last trading day will be March 17.

The shop first opened in 1756 on Blake Street – though it went through several changes of ownership before it was renamed Banks in 1855.

The first proprietor, Thomas Haxby, repaired and made his own instruments before selling to cellist Samuel Knapton in 1788. Knapton moved to new premises opposite the city’s Assembly Rooms, the heart of York’s social scene in the Geordian period.

Various generations of Knapton ran the business until 1829, with Samuel’s son Philip presiding over another relocation to a shop on Coney Street in 1803. They also began publishing sheet music.

The next owner was William Hardman, who transferred it to his assistant Henry Banks in 1855 – and the current name was adopted.

Banks moved the shop again, first to 2 Stonegate in 1855 and then to 58 Stonegate in 1904. This site, overlooking St Helen’s Square, carried the brand into the 20th century and it remained there until 1985, still in Banks family ownership.

Henry’s mantle first passed to his son Louis, then grandson Cecil, who died in 1960. Cecil’s children, Peter and Janet, ran the business until their deaths and it then passed to the last direct descendant, Peter’s daughter Judith Thorpe, who retired and sold up in 2006.

Janet Banks, who took over the shop in 1960, was a legendary figure in York music circles and former staff reminisce about working with and serving a ‘cast of Dickensian characters and eccentrics’ in the 1970s and 80s. The mail order department sent sheet music all over the world and famous composers and prominent organists were among the customers. Her brother Peter was in charge of the publishing side of the business, and died in 1977. Janet passed away in 1980. Five years later the music room moved to its final location on 2 Lendal.

The Musicroom brand’s owners, the Hal Leonard Group, blamed ‘challenging market conditions’ for the decision to restructure and end their high street retail presence.