Changing York: Copper's Lodge in Alma Terrace, Fulford Road

The Vices, in Alma Terrace, opened with a bang - the upmarket York hotel and its in-house restaurant, Allium, gaining an entry in the Michelin Guide in its first year.

However, The Vices and Allium will close on Saturday, September 30 - less than two years after it opened.

The upmarket venue featured individually-designed suites while the restaurant boasted a wine library of more than 200 Italian wines and a cocktail bar.

The founders, Daniel Curro, a trained chef and sommelier from Milan, and Moreno Carbone, have put the closure down to “a significant change in personal circumstances”.

We wish them all the best in the future.

Today, we thought we would take a look back at the building itself, which has an interesting history.

When The Vices opened two years ago, it marked the resurrection of a landmark building for the local area.

The late Van Wilson told the history of the building in her book, Beyond the Postern Gate: A History of Fishergate and Fulford Road.

The building, on the corner of Carey Street and Alma Terrace, was originally the site of Fulford's first police station and dates from the late 1800s.

Before its construction, a police sergeant kept law and order from a terraced house in the road.

In August 1969, the police station was sold - although it had not been used for that purpose for many years.

The building in Alma Terrace which became upmarket boutique hotel, The Vices

Van explains in her book: "After the First World War, it divided into two parts - one a police house and the other a Boys' Remand Home, run by Mr Bates."

The last policeman to stay in the property was Inspector Duck, who left in 1966.

At the back of the building, part of the yard had once been the station mortuary where bodies were laid out after being dragged from the nearby Ouse.

The building lay empty for several years and became a magnet for vandalism.

In 1973, it was converted to six flats. Five year's later, it became a small hotel, with the new name giving a nod to its penal past: Copper's Lodge. The photo we are showing today, from Van's book, dates from 1996.

Press readers have been sharing memories of the building in our nostalgia site on Facebook, Why We Love York - Memories.

Here are some of their recollections:

Ruby Lewis: "I was born in Alma Grove in 1933 and remember it as a police station. My surname then was Baker and we lived with my grandparents Goodman as my father was a regular in the Navy. In your photo you can just see the Co-op store which was on the opposite corner."

Ian Smith: "I remember it as a police building and being told by my mum to be good when we walked past it as a policeman 'would be watching us' while we walked down to my grandparents' house at the bottom of Alma Terrace in the late 50s early 60s."

Trevor Jackson: "In the mid-60s, downstairs was used as a store containing hundreds of York City Police case files tied in bundles. In the days before computers if details of something from long ago were needed a poor cadet would be sent to find the cardboard file - it took hours if not days. Now takes seconds on a computer

"There were two bleak rooms and a very bleak bare brick room as a bathroom. Upstairs with its own main entrance was a living accommodation where George Duck, a DI and family lived. His grandchildren last year were trying to find out about the building.

"Think it operated as a police station Victorian days. There was a lot about it on a Police Pensioners website.

"It was converted to Copper's Lodge from being about derelict. The name was to reflect its old police history.

"Over the last year it has been converted by new owners to an exclusive dining experience with rooms which featured in The Press."

Copper's Lodge in 1996

David C Poole: "In the 1930s it was the home of PC Fred Mirfield, who had originally come to York as a very competent forward for the York Rugby League club."

Susana Morvan: "When we arrived in York 30 years ago, we walked past with our small children and noticed the amazing elephant door knockers that were then on the main door. They were instantly christened Marnie and Rotunda and subsequently had many adventures in bedtime stories.

"Some 25 years on, I illustrated one of the stories for my grandson’s first birthday, but the door knockers disappeared in the most recent refurb so he has no memory of them. I wish I’d been able to ask for them! Anyone else remember them?"

Join the conversation by joining our group of Facebook - Why We Love York - Memories. You will find us at: www.facebook.com/groups/yorknostalgia.

The group is free to join and with almost 5,000 members and with regular posts most days, it is a great way to reminisce about York and share photos and stories with other people who hold York dear in their hearts.