York Historic Environment Record

Register office, now Council offices. 1860 with later alterations. By Rawlins Gould. Orange brick in Flemish bond with moulded stone plinth and dressings; rusticated pilaster strips of faceted blocks on ground floor, ashlar pilasters on first floor: brick parapet with stone piers and coping to slate roof; brick stacks. EXTERIOR: 2-storey 11-bay front, with curved corner bay. Main entrance has round-arched doorcase of 2 orders with sunk-panel pilasters, vermiculated keyblock and panelled double doors with fanlight. Subsidiary entrance at right end has panelled double doors with overlight in eared segment-arched architrave. Windows are segment-headed, in architraves with bracketed moulded sills, set in shallow segment-arched recesses with vermiculated keyblocks: several original 8-pane sashes altered. Ground floor pilaster strips support moulded cornice. First floor articulated in Doric pilasters on sunk- panel pedestals supporting broad frieze and ornate console-bracket cornice: above is open-arcaded parapet incorporating sunk-panel pedestal piers. Generally windows are 4-pane sashes, in stone architraves with moulded sills and cornices, beneath alternately triangular and segmental bracketed pediments. INTERIOR: not inspected.
Listing NGR: SE6012152067

Derived from English Heritage LB download dated: 22/08/2005

It is understood that the construction of the current building began in 1860 and replaced the former Royal Hotel on the site. Built in an Italianate design by York-based architect Rawlins Gould (1821-73) it was commissioned by the York Poor Law Union to house their offices.
The ground floor contained the offices for the clerk to the guardians of the Union and the registrar of births and deaths as well as an application and relieving office. The upper piano noble level was directly accessed via a grand central entrance hall with an ornate stone staircase at the rear leading to the double-height board room which is the focus of the building and affords views across to the Minster.
Adjoining this were a committee room, audit office, anteroom, and muniment/records room.
The building was transferred to local government use in 1929 when the Poor Unions were replaced by Public Assistance Committees. From 1949, it was used as a Festival office, council offices, and more recently underwent internal alterations in 2010 to house the Visit York tourist information centre. (Heritage Statement- attached). Heritage statement also contains images and plans.