The Treasurer's House is a mostly 17th century building (now a National Trust property), but its story extends from Roman times to the 21st century.

The building we see today

In simplified summary:

  • The northwest wing (left in Image A1) was constructed during the early 17th century, although the basement is believed to date from the 14th century.
  • The Great Hall (centre) has an early 17th century facade (facing Minster Yard), with a 16th century fireplace and rear wall (facing the courtyard, partly visible from Chapter House Street).
  • The southeast wing (right in Image A1) is also mainly 17th century, although the single-storey brick-built side extension (Image A4 and extreme right in Image A1) dates from circa 1898. The side extension is now used as both the main entrance to the house (from Chapter House Street) and the main access route between the house and the garden (see Images D2 & A4.)
  • The delightful walled garden was created by Frank Green as part of his remodelling project. It includes an interesting collection of statues (see Image Gallery C). The statue of Mercury is a replica of a lost original that was cast in lead. The replacement was adapted to create a fountain and it now forms the centrepiece of the ornamental pond. The other three statues (Mercury, Neptune and Ceres) are originals and they were all carved from pink sandstone.

Image galleries

A: The house

Image A1

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The garden and front facade of the Treasurer's House in spring. The facade is split into three distinct sections: the northwest wing (left), the Great Hall (centre) and the southeast wing (right). At first glance, the facades of the two wings appear very similar. However, a closer look will reveal significant differences.

Image A2

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The northwest wing (left) housed the Dining Room. Both wings project forward of the Great Hall by one bay. (See also Image A3.) The house is fronted by a small but attractive formal garden (see Image Gallery B).

Image A3

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At ground floor level, the southeast wing housed the West Sitting Room. A later side extension provided an entrance hall from Chapter House Street and a less formal door into the garden (see also Image A4). The side extension now houses the reception area for visitors to the house.

Image A4

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A close-up shot of the side extension and 'Garden Door', with a recently pollarded plane tree in the middleground and the statue of Mercury in the foreground.

Image 5

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The rear of the gable ends of the southeast wing. Note that they are different lengths.

Image 6

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The rear of the central core (right) and the projecting gable of the southeast wing (left).

Image 7

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The rear of the central core. Note the massive projecting chimney breast (centre-right). This appears to have had its stack removed or significantly shortened at some point during the building's long and complex history.

Image 8

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The rear of the central core (left) and the projecting gable of the northwest wing (right). Note the basement windows.

B: The garden

Image B1

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A paved path extends all the way around the perimeter of the attractive and peaceful garden at the front of the house.

Image B2

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There are two small lawned terraces alongside the Minster Yard (north) boundary wall. When open to the public, they provide elevated views of the house and garden, as in this photograph and Images A1 & A3.

Image B3

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On a sunny day, the garden is a delightful place to sit and relax for a while: the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of the city centre. In this view, the white lily-flowered tulips herald the arrival of spring.

Image B4

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The border beds are especially attractive in spring and early summer.

C: The statues

Image C1

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The steps leading up to original front door. Pink sandstone statues of Ceres (left) and Vulcan (right) have been positioned on a pair of brick plinths at the foot of the steps.

Image C2

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The statues of Ceres and Vulcan have been carefully arranged so that they face each other across the steps, as if forming a guard of honour for arriving and departing visitors.

Image C3

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The statue of Ceres (the Roman goddess of relationships, fertility and agriculture). This sculpture refers to the latter role (albeit in gardening terms): she is supporting a goat's horn or 'cornucopia' (also known as a 'horn of plenty'), filled with flowers.

Image C4

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The statue of Vulcan (the Roman god of volcanoes, fire, deserts, forges and metalworking). This sculpture refers to the latter roles: his left hand is resting on an anvil and his right hand is holding the head of a blacksmith's hammer.

Image C5

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A side view of the statue of Neptune (the Roman god of fresh water and the oceans). He is also known as the Lord of the Seas.

Image C6

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A three-quarter view of the statue of Neptune. He is holding a sea shell in his left hand and the tail of a mean-looking fish in his right hand.

Image C7

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The ornamental pond and the Mercury fountain. Mercury is the Roman god of merchants, thieves, travellers, messages and communications. He is depicted here in the latter three roles. He is holding a rolled-up message or scroll in his left hand and either a torch or a post horn in his right (see Image C8).

Image C8

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A close-up of the statue of Mercury. Note his winged feet. These help him to deliver his messages more quickly.

D: Views from the street

Image D1

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The boundary wall and the upper storeys of the southeast wing, as seen from the corner of Minster Yard and Chapter House Street. Note the contrasting masonry for both the house and boundary walls. The walls facing the Minster are constructed from Magnesian limestone, while the rest are brick with stone detailing.

Image D3

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A close-up (three-quarter view) of the upper storeys of the southeast wing. Noteworthy architectural features include the ornate 'Dutch' or 'Flemish' gable end walls (these were an extremely popular design feature during the seventeenth century), the external shutters on either side of the end wall windows and the ornate caps on the top of each downpipe.

Image D2

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The ornate wrought-iron lantern and recently restored sandstone pediment above the side door in Chapter House Street. This is now the main entrance to the property.

A brief history of the site

The site now occupied by the Treasurer's House and Gray's Court has a long and varied history.

During Roman times, it lay entirely within the walled enclosure of the Roman fortress of Eboracum. In the basement of the southeast wing of the Treasurer's House (twelve feet below the level of the current ground surface), the base of an in-situ Roman column and a section of Roman era cobbled pavement have been found. The pavement is believed to be associated with the Via Decumana, i.e. the main road from the Roman Principia (central headquarters building) to the northeast via the Porta Decumana (the north-eastern gateway through the fortress wall).

From the late 11th century until 1547, the site formed part of the official residence of the Treasurers of York Minster. (During this period, the Treasurer was responsible for the Minster's finances and for entertaining important guests, so the incumbent held a great deal of power and prestige.)

On May 26th, 1547 the site was surrendered to the Crown as part of the Reformation of the English Church. Edward VI granted the site to Edward Seymour (Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England) who quickly sold it to Robert Holgate (the first Protestant Archbishop of York) for the princely sum of 200 marks.

The site subsequently passed through numerous owners including Lord Fairfax (one of the key participants in the 1644 siege of York).

The Gray family occupied all or part of the site from 1788 until 1945 (hence the name of Gray's Court).

As indicated by a plaque on the boundary wall beside Minster Yard, the young mathematician and astronomer John Goodricke (1764-86) made some of his most important observations from a window on the second floor of the Treasurer's House. In 1783, Goodricke was awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal for his observations and resulting theories.

In 1897-8, Mr. Frank Green of Nunthorpe Hall purchased three separate dwellings on the site, then undertook a major restoration project with his architect Temple Moore. This project reunified and remodelled the building now known as the Treasurer’s House.

In 1930, Frank Green bequeathed this much-altered building (along with its contents and garden) to the National Trust.

The building is now Grade 1 listed.

Current use

The Treasurer's House is now a popular museum / visitor attraction. The interior spaces are used primarily to tell the story of Frank Green and to house his extensive collection of "antique furniture, ceramics, textiles and paintings".

Practical Information

To explore the interior of the house, a fee is payable (or a valid National Trust membership is required). However, during the property's opening hours, the garden and the basement tea rooms are normally open to the public without payment of an entrance fee. For further details, please refer to the property's own website via the URL in the 'External Links' section below.

External Links

For a comprehensive summary of the history of the site and its buildings, see:
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/york/vol5/pp69-76

For information relating to the museum and grounds (including prices and opening times), see the relevant page on the National Trust website:
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/treasurers-house-york