Changes through time: at York Mansion House
- yorkgeorgians
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
by Alex Carr (YGS Committee Member)
Front View of the Mansion House at York, late 18th / early 19th century
by an unknown artist
Engraving on paper; YORAG : 2002.10.7
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust
York Mansion House – located at the heart of both York’s city centre and civic history – celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. After a period of closure for restoration, the doors have recently reopened. This is not the first occasion that the Mansion House has undergone changes. As the official residence of the Lord Mayor of York, the building has seen successive inhabitants come and go. Quite a few such civic leaders, living and working there, have left a physical mark.
John Carr (detail), 1790-1796
by John Russell
Pastel on paper; YORAG : 2006.24
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust
After the building was finished in 1732 (see the May blog for more on its genesis), various structural and decorative updates were made over time. Some of the earliest were by famous architect John Carr (1723-1807), who twice held the position of Lord Mayor for the City of York. Carr was also employed to design some modifications to the building, and received several payments towards improvements, starting in the 1750s. Records of exact changes are hard to decipher, but they included general repairs. A fee from 1783 was specifically for changing the lower windows, to allow more light in. He also altered the cellars, so that liquor could be properly kept; a necessity for the frequent feasts and banquets held at the House.
Coney Street with the Mansion House, about 1795-1805
by Thomas White
Pencil, watercolour with pen and ink on paper; YORAG : R1556
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust
Often no records of alterations were left, or descriptions are incredibly vague. Further investigation was needed to discover how the building looked in the past. Newspapers can be useful in providing clues. One article from 1883, in the Yorkshire Gazette, reveals that during the Prince of Wales’s visit to York and the Mansion House, the ceiling of the staircase featured bamboo trellising and sea serpent decorations. This is quite a drastic contrast to the ‘oack’ colour that was recorded to have been there in the 1730s. Little is known about these sea serpents, nor how many Lord Mayors they survived, before the next redecoration.
The Mansion House, early C19th
by J. Dawson
Engraving on paper; YORAG : 2002.9.33
All these developments meant that the original colour scheme, and some rooms, were lost by the time the Mansion House entered the 21st century. However, a restoration project in 2017 returned the interiors’ Georgian form, and for the first time the building was opened to the public. The kitchens in particular were re-presented with their original layout, after ‘improvements’ of the 1960s - 1980s, with paint finishes replicating the late 18th century appearance. As a result, fluorescent lights, and vinyl covering that hid the flagstone floor, were removed. Now, in 2025, work is ongoing again to recreate other aspects of the spaces as they were in the 1730s. The previously mentioned ‘oack’ colour has been reinstated in the hallway, and the upstairs Drawing Room wallpaper is being replaced. New red flock wallpaper will substitute a faded 1998 yellow version. This red follows paint and wallpaper scientific analysis from the room.
The Hallway and Stairs in York Mansion House
Pre-project works in January 2025 (left) and returned to 1730s elegance in October 2025 (right)
Photographs courtesy of Alex Carr ©
While the Mansion House still retains its classic Georgian frontage, inside it has undergone changes across three centuries. The 2025 restoration is part of this continuum, and the next 300 years will likely see many more such projects.
End notes:
York Mansion House is on the Historic England List, designated at Grade I and considered to be of exceptional and special interest. Read the list entry here: Mansion House, railings and gas lamps attached to front (1257969)
To find out more about Listed Building and Planning Consents obtained from 1998, look at The City of York Planning website pages
References:
Bellerby, H. (2025) York Mansion House [Ref: 24/01876/LBC] Discharge of Condition 3 (Internal Redecorations). Leeds: Buttress.
Edgar, J. (2014) The Mansion House, Coney Street, York: A Conservation Management PLat: Volume 2: Historical Development of the Mansion House. Grantham: James Edgar Historic Buildings Consultants Ltd.
Kightly, C. & Semlyen, R. (1980) Lords of the City: The Lord Mayors of York and their
Mansion House. York: York City Council.
Pollitt, R. (2020) York Mansion House Guide Book. York: City of York Council & Heritage
Fund.
Wragg, B. (Worsley, G (ed.)) (2000) The Life and Works of John Carr of York. York: Oblong Creative Ltd.
YGS Events for Your Diary
Saturday 8 November
‘Anna Letitia Barbauld (née Aiken)’, published 1798
by John Chapman (active 1792-1823), after an unknown artist
Stipple engraving on paper; NPG D4457
© The National Portrait Gallery
A lecture at The York Medical Society Rooms, 23 Stonegate, York,
YO1 8AW at 2.30pm – 4.00pm
Professor Mary Fairclough
Anna Laetita Barbauld, eighteenth-century polymath, two-hundred years on
Abstract:
Anna Laetita Barbauld (1743-1825) was a poet, educator, polemicist and a leading British
author of the late eighteenth century. She was celebrated after her death as
‘unquestionably the first of our female poets, and one of the most eloquent and powerful of
our prose writers’. Marking the 200th anniversary of her death, this lecture will investigate
Barbauld’s rich and varied literary career, the critical backlash that she faced in her life and
after her death, and her connections with the Dissenting protestant communities of
Yorkshire and York.
Lectures are free to Students and YGS Members; £8 for Non-Members.
After the lectures tea and coffee will be served.
External Events to be Enjoyed
The Georgian Group
Brighton, after 1814
by an unknown artist
Watercolour with pen and black ink on medium, smooth, cream wove paper
B1975.3.409
Image courtesy of the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Tuesday 25 November
The Development of The Georgian Seaside Resort
Online lecture by Sue Berry at 6.30pm – 7.30pm
Brighton did better than other seaside towns and villages in becoming a viable seaside resort. This happened even before royalty and celebrities involved themselves. What was the secret of Brighton’s success?
NB: The above image has been selected independently, it is not from the lecture details.
Catch up Online Anytime
YPOMPOD – Your Place Or Mine Podcast
Ramsgate, after 1814
Unknown artist after William Daniell (1769-1837)
B1975.3.413
Watercolour with pen and black ink on medium smooth cream wove paper
Image courtesy of the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Ramsgate: The Marseille Of The South East
Prof Clive Aslet & Dr John Goodall
A typically erudite, entertaining conversation on matters cultural, social and historical connected to this seaside town (ranging from long before, to long after the Georgians).
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