York Historic Environment Record

Formerly known as: De Grey Rooms, including railings and The Conservative Club ST LEONARD'S PLACE. House with attached area railings, gate and gas lamp standard; now offices. 1835 with extension of 1910. By PF Robinson and GT Andrews for William Blanshard.

MATERIALS: front and right side in white painted Roman cement with slate mansard roof, painted stacks and flat dormer with 2-light Yorkshire sash: extension of orange-cream brick in English garden-wall bond with faience dressings, pantile roof and brick stacks. Cast-iron railings on low stone coping.

EXTERIOR: 3 storeys, basement and attics; 3-bay front. Basement has one blocked window and one 12-pane sash with painted sill. Area spanned by flat bridge to pilaster and entablature doorcase with moulded cornice and front door of 4 sunk panels beneath bordered overlight. On first floor, 12-pane sash windows have moulded sill band, on second floor squatter windows have moulded sills. Broad first floor band and heavy moulded cornice over fasciated eaves frieze, returned across right side. Right side: 3-storey 4-bay return front: 2-storey 8-bay extension to right. Right return detailed as main front. Extension has glazed and panelled door with small-pane overlight and 12-pane sash windows. All openings have cambered arches with keyblocks; windows on ground floor have moulded sills, on first floor moulded sillstring.

INTERIOR: not inspected. RCHM record original fittings including first floor front room with enriched cornice and sunk-panelled fireplace; other fireplaces of marble; moulded cornices on ground and first floors, coved cornices on second floor; and staircase with cast-iron balustrade.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: railings have mushroom finials, mace standards and bracing to ground floor wall. Gas lamp standard has openwork shaft, crossbar and 4-sided tapered lantern.

(City of York: RCHME: The Central Area: HMSO: 1981-: 204). Listing NGR: SE6011652185

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

De Grey Rooms, St. Leonard's Place, were built by subscription in 1841–2 to the design of G. T. Andrews (YG, 13 Nov. 1841). The impetus for the erection of the building was given by the Earl de Grey and officers of the Yorkshire Hussars who required suitable accommodation for their annual mess, and it was intended for purposes for which the Assembly Rooms (45) and Festival Concert Room (46) were unsuitable because of size. It was used for concerts, balls, public entertainments and meetings (Sheahan and Whellan, 1, 623).

The building, bounded to the side and rear by a curving lane which formerly gave access to the rear of De Grey House, is principally of two storeys over a basement. It is brickbuilt, except for part of the rear elevation which has a weather-boarded timber frame. The cement-rendered front elevation is of seven bays, the central five being emphasised and more elaborately decorated, with a through-carriageway in the N. bay. It has cast-iron area railings, lamp standards and first-floor balconies.

The prospectus specified a suite 'comprising a large room, commodious reception and other rooms, spacious kitchens and cellars, and requisite offices' (YG, 2 Oct. 1841). The basement has storage rooms and at the rear a two-storeyed kitchen formerly with a cast-iron range supplied by the iron foundry of William Walker at York. The ground-floor rooms have been altered, but on the first floor the tall main hall has much enriched plasterwork and a panelled ceiling with central clerestorey lighting. Doors lead from it to a lower apsidalended front room, to rooms and a service staircase to the rear and side, and to the main staircase which has cast-iron vine-scroll balusters.

City of York: RCHME: The Central Area: HMSO: 1981-: 103. Monument 48

NMR Information

List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. District of York, 14-MAR-1997

BF061084 DE GREY HOUSE, YORK File of material relating to a site or building. This material has not yet been fully catalogued.

Architect G T ANDREWS 1835
Architect P F ROBINSON 1835 Architect, Assistant to Henry Holland
Person of historic interest/notable pers WILLIAM BLANSHARD 1835

RCHME, 1981, City of York Volume V: The Central Area (Monograph). SYO65.

NMR, 2019, NMR data (Digital archive). SYO2214.