Grays Court, York
| Grays Court | |
|---|---|
 Gray's Court courtyard at the rear of the Treasurer's House, with the red-brick building of Gray's Court facing the camera | |
  Location within York City Centre | |
General information | |
| Type | Historic house; hotel |
| Location | Minster Yard, York, England |
| Coordinates | 53°57′48″N 1°04′51″W / 53.9633°N 1.0807°W |
Construction started | 1080 (earliest parts) |
| Renovated | c. 1742 (extended) 1845–46 (extended and altered) c. 1900 (restored, remodelled and extended) 1902 (garden gates and railings) |
| Owner | Private (since 2005) |
| Website | |
| grayscourtyork | |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
Official name | Grays Court and garden gates and piers attached to south east corner |
| Designated | 14 June 1954 |
| Reference no. | 1257248 |
Grays Court is a Grade I listed house on Minster Yard in York, England. The house is within the city walls near York Minster. Dating back in part to 1080 and commissioned by the first Norman Archbishop of York to provide the official residence for the treasurers of York Minster, it is one of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in the United Kingdom.
History
The house was surrendered to the Crown on 26 May 1547 and William Cliffe, the last of the medieval treasurers, was made dean of Chester. The first post-Reformation owner was Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. He was given the house in 1547 by Edward VI, the son of Henry VIII.[1]
The Sterne Room was built in mid-18th century for Jaques Sterne, Precentor and Canon Residentiary of the Minster and uncle of Laurence Sterne. The marble plaque on the fireplace is of Augusta, Princess of Wales, the mother of King George III.
The house became "Gray's Court" when William and Faith Gray moved into the house in Minster Yard in 1788. Life at the house was recorded by Faith Gray who was a keen diarist but she also worked, with Catharine Cappe et al, to establish a school for poor girls. She helped transform the Grey (now Blue) Coat School and she started a Friendly Society. Faith died at Gray's Court on Boxing Day in 1826.[2]
The 300-metre (980 ft) stretch of the city walls which bounds Grays Court was donated to the city in 1878 by Edwin Gray (c. 1847–1929), the Lord Mayor of York. His wife, Almyra Gray wrote a history of her family in this building Papers and diaries of a York family 1764–1839. The book includes details of the family.[3] Almyra died here in 1939.[4] Composer Alan Gray (1855–1935), was the brother of Edwin Gray and grew up in the house.[5] On 14 June 1954, Grays Court was designated a Grade I listed building.[6] It has been privately owned since 2005, and is now a hotel.
See also
References
- ↑ "The Treasurer's House and Gray's Court | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ↑ Hamilton, Polly (2004). "Gray [née Hopwood], Faith (1751–1826), diarist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48932. Retrieved 5 September 2020. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ↑ Almira Vickers Gray (1927). Papers and diaries of a York family 1764–1839. Sheldon Press.
- ↑ Broughton, Trev Lynn (2019). "Gray [née Vickers], Almyra (1862–1939), social reformer and philanthropist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.59921. ISBN 9780198614128. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link) - ↑ History of the Gray and Other Families
- ↑ Historic England. "Grays Court and garden gates and piers attached to south east corner (Grade I) (1257248)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
External links
