The Polite Tourist - Death in a Chocolate Box

WHO or WHAT is Death in a Chocolate Box?

Inspired by true crime stories from the Victorian era and through the lives of ordinary people whose tales are woven into the rich fabric of an ancient city’s social history – Death in a Chocolate Box offers walking tours through the streets of York.

Meticulously researched and innovative – our tours are designed to offer an informative and unique walk with an experienced storyteller.

To The BOX OFFICE?

You can also discover a selection of thoughtful gifts in our on-line store, including our unique ‘Yorky Grit’.

From an ancient city of warring armies, restless ghosts, religious persecution, delicious chocolate, and infamous outlaws – ‘Yorky Grit’ is THE quintessential memento from York!

AND there is some rather attractive and sustainable gift wrap available too!

Are YOU Ready to Tuck In?

WALK with us through the snickelways and secret passageways of York awhile or WANDER into the macabre and twilight world of the Lady Brigante.

BROWSE the shelves of our emporium for the deliciously unusual or BECOME a fellow taphophile on our forum – Beneath Thy Feet.

WELCOME to Death in a Chocolate Box!

A Member of VISIT YORK. A Proud Member of INDIE YORK.

AND as a welcome to THE original Chocolate Box City – Death in a Chocolate Box is delighted to offer York Carers, Delegates, Students, and Members and Veterans of HM Armed Forces a UNIQUE PERK on any of our walking tours.

Death in a Chocolate Box stands with the People of Ukraine. Sláva Ukrayíni!

Panel 1

The Ghosts of Christmas Past?

‘What is Christmas?

It is the tenderness of the past,

Courage for the present, and hope for the future.’

~ Agnes M. Pahro

With a nod to the festive season, Death in a Chocolate Box presents our much sought after walking tour – The Ghosts Of Christmas Past.

For those of a curious and hardy temperament – why not come along and listen to the Lady Brigante one December evening as she shares with you the tales of those ordinary folk including the story of the retired cobbler, a tragic war wife, and a dreadful river accident.

And ALL lost to history – until now!

To the Box Office?

Panel 2

Death in a Chocolate Box Presents…

DEATH – noun.
The end of the life of a person.

CHOCOLATE BOX – adjective.
Pretty in a superficial way or a romanticized aesthetic.

With the coming of dusk…

And with the door of an atelier closed for the day – it is possible to catch a glimpse of a celebrated miniaturist and storyteller clad in her distinctive black feline boots wandering through the snickelways and secret passages of York in a quest to wake the dead.

ORDINARY FOLK. EXTRAORDINARY DEATHS.

And for those of a curious and hardy temperament – why not come along and listen to the Lady Brigante as she shares with you the tales of the illustrious, the miscreants, artists, misfits and those ordinary folk who have ALL been lost to history – until now!

However, for those of a sensitive nature who are averse to real stories of tears, heartache and tragedy – a meander through the fascinating streets of York with Lady B may NOT be to your taste.

Walk with us awhile?

Through Straker's Passage with the Lady Brigante

A Mourning Walk?

“As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.”
Rumi

Would you like to enjoy a unique and private stroll far from the maddening crowds through the secret passages and old snickelways of the City of York including a wander along the riverside?

Why not take A Mourning Walk with the Lady Brigante one evening and learn of the long-forgotten dead?

And there will also be the opportunity to learn something of an ancient city’s most infamous ghosts along the walk.

Ticket cost from £55 per person.

Curious Much? Let’s Talk!

Subscribe to the brigante chronicles?

For all the gossip, and exciting discoveries about Lady B’s unique walks, the place of rendezvous AND ticket availability – subscribe to The Brigante Chronicles to bring forth EVERY snippet of chatter direct to your inbox!

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from the desk of the lady brigante…

Guest Post: Creepy Cat

Katherine Kerestman was visiting England to research her second macabre travel book. She had not known that she was fated to meet a new friend – THE Lady Brigante.

by The Polite Tourist

What Lies Beneath?

Why not join the Lady B one SUMMER EVENING for a walk by the waterside and listen to the tales of the long-forgotten of York?

by The Polite Tourist

A Curious Death?

For those of a sensitive nature – a walk with the Lady B one TUESDAY EVENING may NOT be to your taste!

by The Polite Tourist

Gazing Up at St Saviour's Parish Church in York

Rock the Cradle?

Pitiful and harsh! What can possibly be said about a life of ONLY five weeks?

by The Polite Tourist

#PoliteTourist #LadyBrigante #IndieYork

Join M’Lady for TeA?

If you would like to take a peek at the bundles of old documents, burial records, and hear the untold tales of nefarious deeds and suspicious deaths from the exclusive Brigante archives – why not cross the threshold to a twilight world inside a little slice of the web to which the Lady B has since laid claim?

Your generosity of spirit is noted and appreciated.

Death Becometh her?

genealogist. grave hunter.

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”
Michael Crichton

As a professional genealogist with an interest in tombstone symbolism – Tee Bylo, our company founder and researcher is a seeker of elusive ancestors and a wanderer of graveyards.

With access to the local repositories and archives in the City of York and throughout North Yorkshire – Tee loves working with those who wish to solve the mysteries, riddles and absurdities of their own family history.

And as an enthusiastic taphophile – Tee can also be found with notebook and camera in hand as she goes in seach of those final resting places on behalf of her clients throughout the world.

Curious Much? Let’s Talk!

Panel 3

Ordinary People. Extraordinary Deaths.

‘We’re All Stories, in the End’
Steven Moffatt

Having returned to British shores only the previous month – on a chilly January morning in 1889 a soldier with the 10th Hussars was found hanging from a pole in the stable block of the York Cavalry Barracks.

On the day following Private Dalby’s death the city coroner opened the inquest at the military hospital and as a succession of witnesses stepped forward to offer testimony – the tragic story unfolds…

Private William Dalby

Pregnant and suffering from severe sickness, a young mother along with her husband and toddler son are living in a quiet area of York and one chilly February evening – things took a turn for the worse.

As a post mortem examination revealed that Mrs Byrne had died as a result of a brain haemorrhage caused by some kind of mysterious ingested poison – an inquest into her death was opened.

Florence Byrne

Panel 4

Peculiar to York!

Sand. Grit. Dust...

Courage. Spirit. Nerve. Tenacity...

Peculiar to the City of York

#YorkyGrit

From an Ancient City of Warring Armies, Restless Ghosts, Religious Persecution, Delicious Chocolate, and Infamous Outlaws – ‘Yorky Grit’ is THE Quintessential Memento from York!

From the shelves of the Death in a Chocolate Box emporium and designed by the Lady Brigante – this is an exclusive hand-made miniature from the City of York.

With a pinch of sand and locally sourced Yorkshire grit, and dressed in our exclusive recycled label – this little bottle will add a peculiar and perfect finishing touch to your cabinet of curiosities.