Guildhall, York
| The Guildhall | |
|
Yorkshire | |
|---|---|
 The Guildhall facing the River Ouse | |
| Type: | Town hall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SE60095189 |
| Location: | 53°57’35"N, 1°5’8"W |
| City: | York |
| History | |
| Built 1459 | |
| Town hall | |
| Information | |
The Guildhall is a the mediaeval city guildhall of York, standing within the circuit of the city walls at which the three Ridings of Yorkshire meet. The Guildhall is in St Martins Courtyard, Coney Street, behind the Mansion House. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
The building was constructed as a meeting place for the City's guilds between 1449 and 1459.[1]
King Richard III was entertained in the building in 1483.[2] The Guildhall was the venue for the trial of Margaret Clitherow, a Roman Catholic recusant, in 1586.[3] it was also the place where a ransom of £200,000 was counted before being given to the Scots in payment for the release of King Charles I in 1647 during the Civil War,[3] In October 1850, Prince Albert, the Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, was a guest of honour at a royal banquet in the Guildhall.[4]
At the north end of the Guildhall was a stained glass window painted by Henry Gyles in about 1682.[5]
In 1811 a building, designed by Peter Atkinson the younger as a council chamber, was erected to the south of the original hall (this is now known as "the Atkinson Room").[6] Then in 1891, another building, designed by Enoch Mawbey, the city surveyor, accommodating a larger council chamber, was built to the north of the original hall (this building is now known as "the Municipal Offices").[6][7] The new council chamber was decorated by Kendal, Milne and Co in the 1890s.[8]
The interior of the original building, including the stained glass window, was destroyed during a Baedeker raid in 1942.[3] After the war the Guildhall was rebuilt and a new stained glass window, depicting five aspects of the city's history (architecture, war, civic affairs, commercial trade and religious education), was designed and installed by Harry Harvey of York.[9] The complex was re-opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1960.[10]
Throughout the 20th century meetings of the City of York Council were held in the Guildhall;[11] however, in Autumn 2017, when a programme of restoration work began at the Guildhall, temporary arrangements were put in place for the council to meet in the former Salvation Army Citadel on Gillygate.[12] The renovation, which cost £21 million and was carried out to remedy serious structural issues, was completed in 2022 and the building was subsequently leased to the University of York, as a centre for start up businesses.[13]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Guildhall, York) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Heritage List 1257929: Guildhall and Chamber Range, Atkinson block, Common Hall Lane and boundary wall containing entrance to lane (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "Walking with King Richard III". York Press. 9 October 2013. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10726140.walking-with-king-richard-iii/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "York Guildhall". History of York. http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/mediæval/the-guildhall.
- ↑ McWilliams, Mark (2012). Celebration: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2011. Prospect Books. ISBN 978-1903018897. https://books.google.com/books?id=wTwQDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT183.
- ↑ "York Guildhall Painted Glass Window". History of York. http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/20th-century/york-guildhall-painted-glass-window.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Tillott, P M (1961). "'The Guildhall, Council Chamber and Mansion House', in A History of the County of York: the City of York". London: British History Online. pp. 542–544. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/city-of-york/pp542-544.
- ↑ "York Guildhall Options Appraisal". York Council. p. 6. https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s98757/Background%20Paper%202%20Options%20Appraisal.pdf.
- ↑ "Municipal Offices". Heritage Gateway. https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?resourceID=1003&uid=MYO1618.
- ↑ "Meet the man who designed the Guildhall's post-blitz stained glass window". York Press. 1 July 2019. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/17736453.meet-the-man-who-designed-the-guildhalls-post-blitz-stained-glass-window/.
- ↑ "The Guildhall". York Press. http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/tourism/whattosee/historicbuildings/display.var.753790.0.guildhall.php.
- ↑ "The Guildhall". York Council. http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200549/council_buildings_and_departments/193/council_buildings_and_departments/7.
- ↑ "Date set for £9m plan to transform York Guildhall into 'world-class business venue'". York Mix. 30 August 2017. https://www.yorkmix.com/date-set-9m-plan-transform-york-guildhall-world-class-business-venue/.
- ↑ "York council hands over keys after £21m Guildhall renovation". York Press. 17 May 2022. https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/20144570.york-council-hands-keys-21m-guildhall-renovation/.
