Treasurers House and Attached Garden Walls, Gate and Gate Piers, Guildhall, York

Description

YORK

SE6052SW MINSTER YARD
1112-1/13/706 (North East side)
14/06/54 No.2
Treasurer's House and attached
garden walls, gate and gate piers

GV I

House and attached garden walls, gate and gate piers. Early
C17 rebuild of C16 house; subdivided in early C18 and later;
alterations, extension and restoration 1898-1900. Early C17
house for Thomas Young; late C19 restoration by Temple Moore
for Mr F Green. Garden created c1900.
MATERIALS: main house front of magnesian limestone on moulded
stone plinth; rear has range of magnesian limestone on stone
plinth between stone quoined crosswings faced with orange-red
brick in English garden-wall bond. Front to Chapter House
Street of orange brick in random bond with cornices of stone
and timber; porch extension of orange brick with stone
dressings incorporated in yard wall of grey brown brick in
Flemish bond with flat stone coping. Tiled roofs with
stone-coped Dutch gables and brick stacks. Garden wall of
limestone rubble incorporating fragments of medieval masonry,
with brick coping; red brick piers in Flemish bond;
wrought-iron gate and screen.
EXTERIOR: main Front: 2-storey 5-bay range flanked by
twin-gabled crosswings, left one of 2 storeys with basement
and attic, right one of 3 storeys with attic. Centre range has
2-storey frontispiece of paired Doric columns on ground floor,
raised on high plinths and with full entablature, and on first
floor, panelled Ionic pilasters with entablature. Flight of
shallow steps leads to panelled double doors with blocked
fanlight in keyed architrave. Windows are cross-windows with
decorative leaded casements. Moulded string over ground floor
windows continues across crosswing returns and gable ends;
similar string over first floor windows continues across left
crosswing return only. Moulded eaves cornice breaks above
pilasters and continues at different levels over crosswing
returns. Rainwater goods with embattled hopper dated 1898.
Left crosswing: basement has chamfered window openings, ground
floor three 24-pane sash windows, first floor two Venetian
windows with radial-glazed centre sashes; attic gables each
have 2x6-pane Yorkshire sash windows beneath pediment hood.
Return has one 24-pane sash window on each floor. Right
crosswing: ground floor has five cross windows with
square-paned leaded lights; on first floor, two pairs of cross
windows beneath moulded string course rising as segmental
pediment over each pair; on second floor, single transomed
light with segmental pediment, flanked by cross-windows with
triangular pediments. Attic has single fixed window in
chamfered opening with segmental pediment to each gable.

Return has one cross-window on ground and first floors.
Mullions and transoms throughout are chamfered.
Gray's Court Front: central range of 2 storeys and basement, 5
bays, left bay gabled with attic; crosswing to left is a
single Dutch-gabled range of 3 storeys; right crosswing of two
Dutch-gabled parallel ranges of 2 storeys and attic. Main
range has truncated external stack to right of centre: windows
in gabled bay are 12-pane sashes, two each on ground and first
floors, one on third floor with moulded cornice to width of
original window: in gable apex, moulded hood survives over
blocked former attic opening. Elsewhere, main range has
restored mullioned windows, some with transoms. Moulded string
over ground floor openings runs across full width of
crosswings and main range. Parapet with moulded coping. Left
crosswing: gable end has single cross window with timber
mullion and transom, square lattice casements and flat brick
arch on each floor, and on first floor moulded stone hood.
Windows on return are oeil-de-boeuf in brick surrounds on
ground floor and narrow 8-pane sashes with 1 course segmental
brick arches on upper floors. Right crosswings have small C17
basement windows above plinth and extruded shaft between the
ranges. Left gable has inset Venetian window with
radial-glazed centre sash on ground and first floors. Right
gable has 3-light square-latticed timber mullioned and
transomed window on ground and first floors, with flat brick
arch on ground floor. Both first floor windows have stone
pediment hoods. Attic windows are paired 8-pane sashes with
stone hoodmoulds.
Right Return to Chapter House Street: 3-storey, 8-window front
behind yard wall approximately 2 metres high incorporating
entrance porch at left end. Porch has round-arched opening
with enlarged keyblock between Ionic pilasters carrying open
pediment with defaced shield of arms of Green in the tympanum.
Archway closed by wrought-iron gate, screen and overthrow with
lantern: entrance is 6-panel door recessed at rear of porch.
Glazed and panelled side door beneath swan-necked pediment
opens to yard behind wall. Windows on ground and first floors
are 12-pane sashes, on second floor squat 6-pane sashes. All
have louvred shutters, stone sills and stone lintels or
cambered brick arches. Moulded cornices to ground floor and
eaves, and inverted bell rainwaterhead dated 1795.
INTERIOR: cellars contain column bases and cobbled pavement
from the Roman fortress.
Ground Floor: lobby and entrance hall have stone flagged
floors. Lobby contains pedimented doorcases from Micklegate
House, Nos 88 and 90 Micklegate (qv). Entrance hall has
stencilled walls; raised fireplace in chamfered 4-centred
arch. Back staircase, from ground floor to attic, has close
string, slender turned balusters, square newels and flat
moulded handrail. Former kitchen retains original fireplace
with chamfer-stopped surround and 4-centred arch: two walls
are lined with Delft tiles. West Sitting-room is lined with
raised and fielded panelling in two heights; chimneypiece has

Ionic columns and scroll-pedimented overmantel with carved
panel of Leda and the Swan; C17 coffered ceiling with moulded
cornice returned along ceiling beams. Dining-room has eared
doorcases with doors of 6 raised and fielded panels in carved
borders, and shutters similarly enriched; carved skirting and
dado rail. Walls above dado panelled in moulded plaster.
Fireplace has Carron grate, panelled Ionic pilasters, and
swan-necked overmantel incorporating landscape painting.
Plaster ceiling incorporates C17 cross beams. Great Hall has
stone-flagged floor; close string staircase with pierced splat
balusters and square newels with urn finials and with painted
and composition ornament leads to closed first floor gallery
carried on screen of Doric columns: restored fireplace has
hollow chamfered surround with shallow 4-centred head beneath
flat lintel. One wall retains fragments of C17 carved stone
frieze. Drawing-room fully lined with bolection-moulded
panelling; two carved doorcases have pulvinated bayleaf
friezes and enriched cornice overdoors; shutters of raised and
fielded panelling. Enriched chimney-piece has eared fasciated
fire surround with cornice shelf, and lobed overmantel
containing a painting of an 'Unknown Lady'. Enriched dentil
cornice to C17 coffered ceiling with corniced beams. Court
Room lined in re-used panelling in two heights. Chimneypiece
flanked by two tiers of sunk-panel pilasters beneath
pulvinated frieze and moulded and dentilled cornice: fireplace
is chamfered in elliptical arched opening and painted
'Lakeland Scene' in the overmantel. Deep moulded cornice to
ceiling of moulded cased beams supported on scrolled consoles.
Staircase hall has quarter-turn staircase to first floor has
open string, slender turned balusters and swept handrails
wreathed at the foot on swirl-fluted newels: underside of
stair treads, hall and staircase dado fitted with fielded
panelling; Ionic Venetian window; dentilled and modillioned
plaster cornice.
First floor landing: Venetian window framed in pilasters with
acanthus capitals and fluted Composite pilasters; panelled
dado beneath moulded rail; enriched moulded modillion cornice
to ceiling with moulded cross beams. The Queen's Room: doors
of 6 fielded panels in carved borders in enriched doorcase
with rococo frieze and console cornice; painted stone
fireplace in eared fasciated surround with deep frieze of
rinceaux and acanthus console cornice shelf; enriched
modillioned ceiling cornice. Princess Victoria's Room has
reused panelling in two heights; two eared and pedimented
doorcases with enriched pulvinated friezes and dentilled
cornices. Eared fireplace with carved cornice shelf and
overmantel painting of a 'Girl with tambourine' in enriched
pedimented surround. Compartmented ceiling with moulded cased
beams and cornice. Tapestry Room is fitted with C17
wainscotting and some arcaded frieze; panelled doors on
cockshead hinges; fireplace in continuous chamfered surround
with shallow 4-centred head; plaster cornice, ceiling and
cased moulded beams. The King's Room has stencilled walls,

chamfered fireplace with shallow 3-centred arch, moulded
cornice and ceiling beam. South Dressing-room is fitted with
fielded panelling in two heights and has fireplace carved with
Rococo ornament.
Private flat containing remaining first floor accommodation in
separate occupation and not accessible. In one room, RCHM
record fireplace with mantelshelf on enriched consoles and
shell in centre of frieze, and in room at rear, original
chamfered brick fireplace with 3-centred arch.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: front garden wall approximately 2.0
metres high with cogged brick course beneath sloped coping.
Towards right end is GR letter-box. Gate piers approximately
2.5 metres high, cruciform on plan, have moulded stone
cornices and ball finials. Gate and side screens incorporate
panels of scrolls, beneath overthrow incorporating gas lamp
bracket.
HISTORICAL NOTE: in 1782, John Goodricke (1764-86), astronomer
and mathematician, made observations from the house which
"laid the foundations of modern measurement of the universe".
(Hildyard, R: Guidebook to the Treasurer's House; City of
York: RCHME: The Central Area: HMSO: 1981-: 69-75).

Listing NGR: SE6040452274

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