HOW ordinary people lived, worked and left their mark on York is the focus of an upcoming event to highlight to people the vibrant history on their doorstep.

A range of illustrated talks, workshops and walking tours will be held on November 1 and 2 at Clements Hall, South Bank, York, in a bid to encourage an alternative view of York’s history, shining the spotlight on the common people who made the city what it is today.

Paul Bisson, manager of Clements Hall, said: “Many people’s own family histories go back over several generations in the same area, and the evidence is all around them of how people lived and worked. We hope people will take the opportunity to explore their own communities.”

Subjects on offer include St Clements Church, built in its current form during the 19th century but with a history dating back nearly a millennium, and the Bar Convent, England’s oldest surviving Roman Catholic convent.

Other topics are the City Walls from Micklegate to the Old Baille – York’s second castle – and the shops on Bishopthorpe Road.

For younger visitors, there will be a family treasure hunt around the area. They will also have the opportunity to do some detective work, puzzling out the uses of historical objects which would have been commonplace 100 years ago but which are now very rare.

Mr Bisson added: “The whole idea of the event is to get people to look around them in the area they live and discover how things have changed over the years.”

There will also be displays marking 2014's 100th anniversary of the outbreak of First World War. The National Railway Museum will be giving a presentation on how it intends to mark the centenary, while pupils at The Mount and Millthorpe Schools will have their work exhibited.

The Clements Hall Local History Group is also appealing for war memorabilia for a project of its own, which might shed light on how it affected local people in York.