| York Guildhall | |
| Coordinates: | 53.9596°N -1.0856°W |
| Location: | York, North Yorkshire |
| Built: | 1459 |
| Designation1: | Grade I |
| Designation1 Date: | 14 June 1954 |
| Designation1 Number: | 1257929 |
The Guildhall York is a municipal building located in St Martins Courtyard, Coney Street, in York. Located behind the Mansion House, it is a Grade I listed building.
The building was constructed as a meeting place for the City's guilds between 1449 and 1459.
King Richard III was entertained in the building in 1483,[1] and the Guildhall was the venue for the trial of St Margaret Clitherow, a Catholic martyr, in 1586.[2] It was also the place where a ransom of £200,000 was counted before being given to the Scots in payment for the release of Charles I in 1647 during the English Civil War,[2] and where Prince Albert, the Prince Consort to Queen Victoria was a guest of honour at a royal banquet in the building in October 1850.[3] At the north end of the Guildhall was a stained glass window painted by Henry Gyles in about 1682.[4]
In 1811 a building, designed by Peter Atkinson the younger as a council chamber, was erected to the south of the original hall (this is now known as "the Atkinson Room").[5] Then in 1891, another building, designed by Enoch Mawbey, the city surveyor, accommodating a larger council chamber, was built to the north of the original hall (this building is now known as "the Municipal Offices").[5] [6] The new council chamber was decorated by Kendal, Milne and Co in the 1890s.[7]
The interior of the original building, including the stained glass window, was destroyed during a Baedeker raid in 1942.[2] After the war the Guildhall was rebuilt and a new stained glass window, depicting five aspects of the city's history (architecture, war, civic affairs, commercial trade and religious education), was designed and installed by Harry Harvey of York.[8] The complex was re-opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1960.[9]
Throughout the 20th century meetings of the City of York Council were held in the Guildhall;[10] however, in Autumn 2017, when a programme of restoration work began at the Guildhall, temporary arrangements were put in place for the council to meet in the former Salvation Army Citadel on Gillygate.[11] The renovation, which cost £21 million and was carried out to remedy serious structural issues, was completed in 2022 and the building was subsequently leased to the University of York, as a centre for start up businesses.[12]
The Guildhall York - York Conferences and Events - 3D Tour Available