York Guildhall
53°57′35″N 1°05′08″W / 53.95963°N 1.08563°W / 53.95963; -1.08563
![York Guildhall is located in North Yorkshire](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/North_Yorkshire_UK_location_map_%282023%29.svg/235px-North_Yorkshire_UK_location_map_%282023%29.svg.png)
![York Guildhall](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Red_pog.svg/7px-Red_pog.svg.png)
The Guildhall York is a municipal building located in St Martins Courtyard, Coney Street, in York. Located behind the Mansion House, it is a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Yorkguildhall.jpg/290px-Yorkguildhall.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/York_Council_Chamber.jpg/220px-York_Council_Chamber.jpg)
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] and the Guildhall was the venue for the trial of St Margaret Clitherow, a Catholic martyr, 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 Charles I in 1647 during the English Civil War,[3] and where Prince Albert, the Prince Consort to Queen Victoria was a guest of honour at a royal banquet in the building in October 1850.[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]
See also
- Guild
- Guildhall
References
- ^ a b Historic England. "Guildhall and Chamber Range, Atkinson block, Common Hall Lane and boundary wall containing entrance to lane (1257929)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ "Walking with King Richard III". York Press. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "York Guildhall". History of York. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ^ McWilliams, Mark (2012). Celebration: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2011. Prospect Books. ISBN 978-1903018897.
- ^ "York Guildhall Painted Glass Window". History of York. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ a b 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. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "York Guildhall Options Appraisal" (PDF). York Council. p. 6. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Municipal Offices". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Meet the man who designed the Guildhall's post-blitz stained glass window". York Press. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "The Guildhall". York Press. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "The Guildhall". York Council. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ "Date set for £9m plan to transform York Guildhall into 'world-class business venue'". York Mix. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "York council hands over keys after £21m Guildhall renovation". York Press. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
External links
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The Guildhall York - York Conferences and Events - 3D Tour Available