This particular haunting has always been included in ghostly guides to the north country. It is unique in that mention of it is even made on the church information board attached to the gate.
During the 1860s and 1870s the ghost of Trinity Church was particularly active.

The church has been much altered since the time of the hauntings, although enough of the structure remains to enable us to imagine the scene when the gallery at the west end of the nave gave such a clear view of the phenomena at the east. It must be remembered, however, that the present east window is not the one about which the story is told, nor is it in the original position. The present chancel was built about 1886 on the site of the great central tower of the original priory church.

In those days the church had a raised gallery, a sort of second floor level, as in a theatre. Such a stucture was not uncommon in churches in years past. Members of the congregation could climb up the wooden steps into the gallery to attend the service. From this vantage point in Trinity Church Micklegate, one could see along the nave to the east window.

Three very distinct figures were seen, always in broad daylight, and generally during the hours of morning service. One of the figures, referred to as the mother, was tall and graceful, eighteen to twenty years of age, her face covered with a fine lace veil. This was the figure showed affection and despair.
The congregation gathered on Sundays and some would sit in the gallery. From here, the figure of the slim young woman, could be seen as she came into view across the middle part of the east window. She would walk quickly across the window, dissapearing from view. She wore a long hooded robe of brilliant white which could be seen to trail on the ground behind her.

The second figure is connected to the young woman and has been described as a nursemaid, showing loving care of a child which she brings to the mother, the young woman.
From the viewpoint in the gallery the young woman appeared to walk about 30 yards beyond the east window. This impression was gained simply from the size of the figure as seen in the window. There were many witnesses to this sighting and the sequence of events were always very much the same. First the young woman would emerge alone from one side of the window and disappear behind the stone work on the other side.
After a short time the figure reappears form that side where she became obscured. This time she is accompanied by a child and an older woman, seemingly the nurse. The figures are seen to be in conversation. The young woman then appears to say goodbye and starts to walk away. The child and nurse are apparently distressed at her leaving and the young woman returns to hug and kiss the child.
Witnesses to these scenes would often say how clear the figures were.

Legend says that a father, mother and child lived near the church. When the father died, he was buried near the east window, but the child, dying later, had to be buried outside the city walls because of plague regulations. Soon afterwards the mother died and was buried in the husband's grave, so she continues to seek for her child and bemoan the separation.

This scene was repeated for many years. It is reported to have been seen during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The weather had no effect on the phenomenon as it was seen in bright sunlight, during snowstorms and on grey rainy days.
A letter in the 6th May 1886 edition of the Ripon and Richmond Chronicle gives an account of one experience:

In the middle of the service, my eyes, which had hardly once moved from the left or north side of the window, were attracted to a bright light, formed like a female, robed and hooded, passing from north to south, with a rapid gliding motion. The robe was long and trailed. About half an hour later, it again passed from north to south, and having remained about ten seconds only, returned with what I believe to have been the figure of a small child.

The figure was seen many times and always through the same window, leading to suspicion that it was an illusion created by tree branches. In an attempt to 'lay the ghost' one rector had the trees cut down, confident this would end the sightings, and for a while nothing was seen. The rational clergyman congratulated himself on his ability to banish superstition. But then, several months later, the figure was seen again flitting past the window during a marriage ceremony.

In 1957, an incident occurred which was reported to Mr. John Mitchell, the author of ' Ghosts of an Ancient City' by a teacher of religious knowledge in a local school. This lady, during one of York's festivals, was showing a keen historian round some of the ancient churches of York. About nine o'clock in the evening, the two ladies came to Holy Trinity Church in the gathering dusk, neither of them knowing of the traditions of haunting connected with the building. As the historian examined the monuments, her friend stood, somewhat tired, in the crossing at the west end of the church, underneath the place where the gallery used to be. She noticed the atmosphere change to what she described as "earthy and cold, an atmosphere of death and decay". It was not until 1964 that she heard of the tradition of haunting in the church and decided to visit the building once again. This time all was well, and the atmosphere was free of any unpleasant aromas.

Another tradition tells us that in the troubled days of Henry VIII, a party of soldiers, coming to take possession of the convent (as it once was), once attached to this community, met spirited reproval from the prioress, who barred the way and told them that only over her body would they enter God's property. Her courage resulted in her being cut down by their swords, though she vowed before dying that her spirit would haunt the site until what belonged to God was restored. Unfortunately the legend must remain unfounded, for the convent attached to the priory was St. Clement's in Clementhorpe and we know that the last prioress was Isabel Warde who lived in a house in Trinity Lane, leaving it to the poor of the parish when she died. The house still stands in the narrow lane to the east of the church and is in use, with the name of "Jacob's Well", for meetings.
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