York Historic Environment Record

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