York Historic Environment Record

YORK SE5951NE STATION ROAD 1112-1/15/1002 (West side) 24/06/83 Royal York Hotel and area railings attached at side and rear GV II Station hotel with area railings attached at side and rear. 1878-96. By Thomas Prosser and William Peachey for the North East Railway Co. MATERIALS: yellow Scarborough brick in English bond with rusticated basement, chamfered ashlar quoins and bands of red brick arched over window heads; ashlar dressings, and strings, impost bands, copings and cornices of moulded stone. Stone balustraded brick parapets with urns and brick stacks with stone cornices to slate roof. Railings are cast-iron. STYLE: Italianate. EXTERIOR: main front: 3 storeys with basement and attics; 19 windows arranged 2:5:5:5:2: end and centre blocks are quoined and break forward; centre block extends further forward with 2-storey 5-bay block between 1-storey 3-bay ranges with 1-storey projecting porch at right end. In the end block re-entrants are stone oriel windows on first floor. At far right end, 2-bay crosswing extension of 5 storeys with attics and tower. Basement openings have cambered arches of radiating rusticated brick voussoirs with stone keyblocks. Flat roofed porch has C20 small-pane glazed double doors in moulded round arch. Ground and first floor windows in end and centre blocks form 2-storey canted bays. In the end blocks, ground floor windows are segment-headed sashes in stilted arches with stiff leaf imposts, carved keyblocks and inset moulded voussoirs; in the centre block, they are similar but round-arched; elsewhere they have round arches with inset plain voussoirs and imposts. First floor windows are segment-arched, those in end and centre blocks with moulded segmental hoods on brackets, and those in centre block with bracketed brick balconies. Ground and first floor windows have moulded stone sunk panels beneath them. Second floor windows are squat sashes with sills on brackets, those in end and centre blocks with bracketed cornice hoods, otherwise with keyed brick arches. End and centre block attic windows have keyed cambered brick arches; elsewhere they have shaped lintels and pedimented gables. Moulded second floor cornice is dentilled over the end and centre blocks. Porch, end block bay windows, oriels and 1-storey ranges are capped with parapets pierced with bands of keyed oculi. Crosswing fronted by full height twin gabled square bay crowned by pediments broken by shell mouldings and with paired windows in ashlar surrounds. Ground floor windows are tripartite segment and round headed sashes framed in pilasters with imposts beneath continuous pulvinated frieze and cornice. Tripartite first floor windows framed in Ionic pilasters supporting entablatures with dentilled cornices and scrolled pediments broken by grotesques in foliage. On second and third floors, paired windows are framed in 2 tiers of Ionic pilasters carrying entablature with cornice over third floor: beneath third floor windows are carved swags. Fourth floor windows are single sashes with affronted strapwork scrolls beneath them and channelled wedge lintels. Modillioned cornice beneath attic which has single sashes with moulded lintels. Unless indicated otherwise, all windows are 4-pane sashes. Tower is topped by moulded corbel cornice and balustraded parapet. Station Road front: 3 storeys with basement and attic; 10 bays arranged 3:4:3: the end blocks are quoined and break forward: right end block has projecting 1-storey porch. Doors in porch are glazed and panelled. Other details as for main front. INTERIOR: not fully inspected. Of particular note in the public areas are the basement bar and staircase both lined with ceramic tiles. The main staircase is cantilevered and rises around an open well the full height of the building with balustrade of cast-iron openwork panels and ornate ceramic newels at the foot. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: area railings on low stone plinth are diamond latticed panels with conical pendant finials and turned standards with macehead bases and spiked finials. (Bartholomew City Guides: Hutchinson J and Palliser DM: York: Edinburgh: 1980-: 246-7). Listing NGR: SE5966651780