Grade I listed building in York, England
The
Treasurer's House
in
York
,
North Yorkshire
, England, is a Grade I
listed
historic house
[1]
owned by the
National Trust
, who also maintain its garden.
[2]
[3]
It is located in
Minster Yard
, directly to the north of
York Minster
.
History
[
edit
]
The first Treasurer for York Minster was appointed in 1091 when the office was established by
Archbishop of York
Thomas of Bayeux
, but all that remains of his original house is an external wall which forms part of
Grays Court
and sections of 12th-century masonry in the present Treasurer's House for which it is uncertain whether they are in-situ or have been reused. As the controller of the finances of the Minster the Treasurer required a grand residence to be able to entertain important guests.
[4]
[5]
The residence served in this capacity until 1547, when the
Reformation of the English Church
brought the job of Treasurer to an end. The last Treasurer surrendered the house to the crown on 26 May and it was granted to
Protector Somerset
by whom it was sold to Archbishop
Robert Holgate
.
Thomas Young
, Archbishop between 1561 and 1568, and his descendants are responsible for the structure of house as it is today. In the early 17th century the Young family added the symmetrical front and almost entirely rebuilt the house. In 1617, the Treasurer's House played host to royalty when Sir George Young entertained
King James I
. The house then passed through a number of private owners including Lord Fairfax and over time was sub-divided into separate tenements.
[4]
[5]
The house was restored to its present state by
Frank Green
, a wealthy local industrialist, who between 1897 and 1898 bought each part of the house. He appointed
Temple Moore
to restore the house and remove numerous earlier additions. This work was mostly completed by 1900 before Prince
Albert Edward
, Princess
Alexandra of Denmark
and Princess
Victoria
visited in June the same year.
[6]
When Frank Green retired and moved away from York in 1930 the house and its contents were given to the National Trust.
[5]
This marked the first time both a private home and its original furnishings had ever been given to the Trust.
[6]
The house was built directly over one of the main
Roman roads
leading out of
Roman York
to the North. During major structural changes, carried out by Green, four Roman column bases were uncovered, one of which remains in-situ in the cellar.
[7]
Public access
[
edit
]
Treasurer's House is open to the public for an admission fee, and free to members of the National Trust. The garden and Below Stairs Cafe are free to enter. Cellar and attic tours are available, depending on the time of year.
[8]
Roman soldiers apparition
[
edit
]
Portrait of the antiquary
Francis Drake
, on display at the Treasurer's House
Several ghosts reportedly haunt the house, including that of George Aislaby, who owned the property in the seventeenth century. However, the most notable haunting is by a group of
Roman soldiers
, who have been witnessed in the cellar, firstly by a party guest of Frank Green and then many years later during restoration works carried out by the National Trust.
[9]
In 1953, local 18-year-old apprentice plumber Harry Martindale was repairing pipe work in the cellar, the National Trust having decided to remove the coal-fired
central heating
installed by Green. After about four hours of work at the top of his ladder, Martindale became aware of a musical sound, resembling a series of repeated single trumpet-like notes. The sound grew in intensity until, just below his ladder, Martindale reported that he saw a soldier, wearing a
plumed helmet
, emerge from the wall, followed by a
cart horse
and about nine or ten pairs of other Roman soldiers. Martindale fell, terrified, from his ladder and stumbled into a corner to hide. The soldiers appeared to be armed
legionaries
, visible only from the knees up, in a marching formation, but were "scruffy". They were distinctive in three ways: they carried
round shields
on their left arms, they carried some kind of daggers in scabbards on their right side and they wore green tunics. When they descended to the level of the Roman road, on which Martindale had stood his ladder, he was able to see that they wore
open sandals
with leather straps to the knees.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
The experience so frightened Martindale that it was several weeks before he returned to his job.
[10]
Many years later, excavations in the city revealed that the descriptions of the soldiers' dress given by Martindale, at first dismissed as anomalous, in fact matched those of local reserve soldiers who took over the
Roman garrison
when the regular soldiers began returning to Rome in the fifth century.
[13]
During the course of his long life Martindale recounted his experience many times, but never changed any of the details and always refused any payment.
[10]
The Treasurer's House was visited in the first episode of the
Discovery Channel
television series
Ghosthunters
.
[14]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Historic England
.
"Treasurers House and attached garden walls, gate and gate piers (1257251)"
.
National Heritage List for England
. Retrieved
3 March
2019
.
- ^
"Treasurer's House, National Trust"
. www.nationaltrust.org.uk. 18 May 2009.
- ^
"Treasurer's House Garden (managed by the National Trust) - City of York Council"
. www.york.gov.uk
. Retrieved
18 May
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"History of York: Treasurer's House"
. York Museums Trust
. Retrieved
24 September
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The Treasurer's House and Gray's Court".
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 5, Central
. London. 1981. pp. 69?76
. Retrieved
27 December
2017
– via British History Online.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
a
b
"Treasurer's House: History of York"
.
www.historyofyork.org.uk
. Retrieved
26 August
2022
.
- ^
"Treasurer's House, Minster Yard, York - Jorvik.co.uk"
. 24 January 2013
. Retrieved
26 August
2022
.
- ^
"What's on"
.
National Trust
. Retrieved
26 August
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Mitchell, John V.
Ghosts of an Ancient City
. York: Cerialis Press. pp. 53?54.
OL
13708454M
.
- ^
a
b
c
Laycock, Mike (25 October 2014).
"Famous ghost witness Harry Martindale dies"
.
York Express
. Retrieved
24 September
2015
.
- ^
"Welcome to Haunted York - The Treasurer's House"
. www.welcometoyork.co.uk. Archived from
the original
on 29 August 2011
. Retrieved
18 May
2009
.
- ^
"Treasurer's House, York"
. www.britainexpress.com
. Retrieved
18 May
2009
.
- ^
"
'By the look of you, you've seen the Romans!'
"
.
National Trust
. Retrieved
26 August
2022
.
- ^
"BBC - h2g2 - Treasurer's House, York, UK"
. BBC
. Retrieved
18 May
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]