Following a period of renovation, Mansion House is ready to reopen. Sarah White gives us some insight into the improvements and celebrates this historic building’s return in time to host York Georgian Festival.
The Mansion House is one of the earliest buildings built in the new fashionable ‘classical style’. Rising above what is now St Helen’s Square, the house would have been seen as a significant statement: a building of brick and stone built in a medieval city of timbered jettisoned buildings. It has influenced the development and other architectural buildings in St Helen’s Square.
The house is Grade 1 listed, marking it out as a building of important historical and architectural merit. It is also the home to a significant collection of works of art, from medieval swords to a silver chamber pot and a desiccated magical cat! All items are intrinsically linked to the history of York.
As with all historic buildings, there’s a cycle of maintenance and some more substantial repairs, as areas of the building deteriorate. The planning for works started in 2014, and a fabric condition survey was carried out in 2023. This looked at the overall condition of the house and includes: restoration of the roof structure, internal plasterwork and external windows; upgrading building services and fire measures; regulating the temperature, humidity and air conditioning; improving environmental performance and accessibility issues. Significantly, the Mansion House lift, which provides access throughout the house to wheelchair users, was not reliable and failing mechanically. A new lift will be installed.
The works are in 2 stages, which run concurrently, with stage one completed in August whilst stage 2 runs until November. Standout parts so far include the colours – using modern research methods to analyse paint and paper fragments to establish the original 1730s colour schemes and provide a sound basis for the historical interpretation of the spaces. And the archaeological excavation in the beer cellar discovered a Roman ‘surface’, possibly a yard of road. Bits of 18th century bottles were also found, and a 1980s Boost chocolate bar wrapper!
The Mansion House will re-open in August in time for the York Georgian Festival. As the host of the festival, it’s the main events programme of the year for the Mansion House – which has been the home of events for 300 years! By preserving this beautiful building we are able to continue to host, not just daytime visitors to explore the history, but private hires, weddings, theatre, music, cultural events, and of course… the York Georgian Festival.
Spanning 5 days from Thursday 7th to Monday 11th August, the festival covers all manor of events, from talks, dance classes, trails, fashion, promenades… and the ultimate York Georgian Ball. The festival has grown so much in its 3 years and stretches right across the City. The Mansion House hosts back to back events throughout but you will also see the Ball at the Assembly Rooms, talks at Barley Hall and Fairfax House, theatre at Merchant Taylor’s Hall, Gin Tasting with York Gin at Impossible, Mad Alice taking you around the city for exclusive Georgian gore, and so much more!
It truly is a time period that the city is embracing, and the residents and visitors are the most amazing history enthusiasts, dressing in their finery all over York. We are incredibly proud to be the creator and host of this celebration, and to re-open the Mansion House in time for this festival is celebration enough for our love and respect for this magnificent building that sits rather unassumingly in the centre of our city.
https://www.mansionhouseyork.com/yorkgeorgianfestival
