We were delighted recently to be contacted by Lauren Marshall, Museum Director of York’s Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. Earlier in the year the Museum had accepted a donation of an interesting series of drawings by York artist Edwin Risdale Tate. Dated 1917, the sketches were intended for inclusion in an auction brochure advertising “fine old panelling” from rooms on Lady Peckett’s Yard, behind Herbert House.
Bought by our founders in the 1940s, Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard are closely linked with Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. Standing on Pavement, once an important thoroughfare for York’s wealthiest merchants, Herbert House was built by the Merchant Adventurers’ Company in around 1545 and named later after an influential dynasty of merchants and Lord Mayors the Herbert family, who bought it in 1557. The narrow passageway, or snicket, that connected the complex of buildings to the Hall was later called Lady Peckett’s Yard after a former Lord Mayor’s wife, Alice Peckett, in 1702.
The mix of commercial and residential spaces have been adapted many times over hundreds of years, although we all recognise Herbert House as the current home of York Gin. The post-medieval townhouse, along with Lady Peckett’s Yard, is now due important conservation and restoration work to help ensure its continued use. An important aspect of this forthcoming work is research into the building’s many adaptations.
We learned from Lauren that in the 19th century, Pawnbroker John Wood and his family had rooms within the complex of buildings backing on to Lady Peckett’s Yard. Portraits of the Wood family are currently on display in Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. Wood’s daughter Eliza married his apprentice, Henry Hardcastle, and the family operated their business from a ground floor shop with rooms above until 1923. Within their living rooms, there was intricately carved 17th and 18th century wooden panelling and an oak staircase, matching woodwork in the upper rooms of Herbert House. But what remained of the panelling and staircase? Were they all auctioned off by Henry Hardcastle?
Upon seeing the drawings, Trust Operations Manager Lizzie Taylor recognised some of the panelling and knew that the staircase was still in situ. Together, Lauren, Lizzie and Rebecca Francis of the Merchant Adventurer's took the sketches to try and work out what remained and in which rooms. Aided by the drawings, they were also able to identify the locations of missing panelling.
Our thanks go to Lauren and the team at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall for sharing Risdale Tate’s drawings with us and adding to our understanding and knowledge of Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard. We are all now keen to know what, if any, of the sold off panelling remains in York and where it might be. If you do know, please contact lizzietaylor@yorkconservationtrust.org.
What we do know is that, as plans are formed for the future of Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard, and especially when work begins, we’re sure to uncover more surprises and secrets held by these fabulous historic buildings.
Owners of a significant collection of work by Edwin Risdale Tate and portraits of the Wood family, discover more about Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York’s wealthy merchants and their influence on York’s rise as the ‘capital of the North’.
Lauren and Rebecca match up the panelling in Tate's drawings to that which is still present at the building.
This last image shows decorative panelling which is sadly no longer at Lady Peckett's Yard, and was presumably sold in 1917. Do you know where it ended up?
