Our city welcomes thousands of people each day and if you are in the centre of York, you won’t be far from one of our buildings. To help you discover the fantastic businesses that occupy our historic buildings, we’ve put together a short guide for Summer 2024.
As a conservation charity we own and look after over 70 of York’s most historic and iconic buildings. Our goal is to keep our buildings occupied and useful, and to do this we lease many to independent local businesses. Helping to support York’s place as one of Northern England’s top visitor destinations, you’ll discover some great shops, restaurants and attractions, plus a delightful garden hidden in the city centre.
Georgian Townhouse
14 St Saviour’s Place YO1 7PJ
Built in the 1750s as a Manse (a home for a church minister), this fabulous Georgian townhouse has connections to the famous Methodist preacher John Wesley. Unusually for its type, the house is set back from the street by a charming formal garden and yet, despite its impressive appearance, it’s only one room deep. Once owned and used by the University of York for student accommodation, today it has been beautifully restored by the Trust and welcomes visitors for holiday stays and business stopovers.
Tudor Townhouse
87 Micklegate YO1 6LE
Sitting in a row, these 14th century timber-framed buildings offer us a glimpse of Tudor York. Found on Micklegate, one of York’s historically most important thoroughfares, the row was originally occupied by butchers and No. 85 had a slaughterhouse at the rear. Today No. 87 has been beautifully restored as holiday accommodation, offering a great city base from which to explore.
Georgian Townhouse Apartments (Apt 1, Apt 2, Apt 3)
69/71 Micklegate YO1 6LJ
This building was one of the Trust’s biggest challenges, bringing back into use a building on the verge of collapse. Behind its Georgian façade there are remnants of medieval and even earlier origins of inhabitancy. The upper rooms have been carefully converted into three handsome holiday apartments offering excellent access to both the nearby railway station and York city centre. There is also a small self-contained cottage to the rear. Located on the ground floor is Wheelwrights, the great team you’ll speak to if you choose to book one of our central York holiday apartments.
Fairfax House – Georgian Townhouse Museum
Castlegate YO1 9RN
Built in the 1740s and bought by Lord Fairfax for his daughter Anne around 1760, Fairfax House is one of the finest Georgian townhouses in Britain. Formerly a cinema and dance hall, today this outstanding building is a museum of aristocratic Georgian life operated by York Civic Trust. You’ll discover a wonderful display of Georgian interiors, fashions, and furniture. This summer there is a special exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of its restoration.
York Theatre Royal – Entertainment, exhibition and café
St Leonard’s Place YO1 7HD
One of the oldest theatres in the UK, originally known as the ‘New Theatre’, it opened in 1744 and performers have been delighting audiences there ever since. With a regularly changing programme, enjoy a great evening of live entertainment, visit the café with outdoor seating and performance space, and enjoy the regular exhibitions.
Click to see what's on and book your tickets.
Ask Italian
Assembly Rooms, Blake Street YO1 8QG
The first neo-classical building built outside Italy and pre-dating the Assembly Rooms in Bath, York’s Assembly Rooms were completed in 1735 to offer regular entertainment in the form of dancing and cards to the increasing numbers of affluent visitors to the city. Built in the Palladian style by Lord Burlington, the design was based on an Egyptian Hall. Still delighting visitors today, the Assembly Rooms host a roster of annual civic events and is home to a popular Italian restaurant. The sumptuously decorated main ballroom gives diners an extraordinary experience in this much-loved historic building.
The Red House Antique Centre and Café
Duncombe Place YO1 7ED
Designed and built by the celebrated York architect John Etty in 1676-78, The Red House represents a revolution in town centre building after the disaster of the Great Fire of London in 1666. Imposing, stone-built and assumed to be originally intended for York’s Lord Mayors, today it hosts three floors of interest and variety for discerning bargain hunters with a lovely café on the top floor to rest and enjoy an afternoon tea.
Gert and Henry’s Restaurant
4 Jubbergate YO1 8RT
This late medieval townhouse sits on the edge of the Shambles Market, giving us an idea of how the area would have looked surrounded by similar, close-packed buildings on all sides. Built in the 14th century, the timber-framed building was heavily restored in 1928 and has been home to many different commercial enterprises. Today it welcomes visitors as Gert & Henry’s restaurant, where shoppers enjoy lunches and teas while watching the busy market scene.
Sandwiches Café
12 Newgate YO1 7LA
Close to the Shambles Market you’ll find Sandwiches Café at 12 Newgate. One of the oldest buildings in York, it was part of a row of one-up one-down tenements built in the 1330s. The timber frames still retain some of the original carpenters’ marks. The little houses were probably intended to provide a rental income for the adjoining church which is now long gone. Today, you can refuel with a stop at Sandwiches Café and be welcomed as part of a very long history of visitors stretching back nearly 700 years!
Stonegate
YO1 8AS
First mentioned in civic records as early as 1118 and named after the vast quantity of stone hauled up from the river to build York Minster, Stonegate has long been an important and busy commercial thoroughfare. Part of the Pretorian Way that led to the Roman fortress of Eboracum, shop keepers have plied their trade here for many hundreds of years including goldsmiths, saddlers, bookshops and glaziers. Today, the high-end shopping experience continues:
Beauchamp - 12 Stonegate
Offers a range of high-quality Italian leather bags and accessories.
Nails of Distinction – 12a Stonegate
A popular destination for nail and beauty services.
Born of Botanics - 14 Stonegate
Discover a great range of unique scents, hand-made and poured in York.
WERK by TCJ Designs - 16 Stonegate
Award-winning jewellery designers and makers and Fellows of the Institute of Goldsmiths.
The House of Trembling Madness
14 Lendal YO1 8AA
Built around 1714, the impressive no. 14 Lendal also benefitted from the shift to building in stone after The Great Fire of London. The building was home to John Goodricke, a notable amateur astronomer and Charles Fitzwilliam, 5th Earl Fitzwilliam had rooms here in 1831 when he became the President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. For 170 years it was home to the celebrated saddle and harness maker Robson and Cooper. Today this grand old building is occupied by the House of Trembling Madness bar and restaurant, which boasts one of the largest collections of craft beers in Yorkshire.
Goodramgate
YO1 7LS
Each one of our Goodramgate buildings is unique with its own rich history and broad range of businesses:
Knutti Store - 43 Goodramgate
York’s very own Viking celebrity, Knutti, arrived in 2023 and set up his trading post on Goodramgate. A great way to take home a York souvenir with a difference!
La Piazza Antica - 45 Goodramgate
This beautiful timber-framed Tudor townhouse, once home to bakers with a resident ghost, has been brought back from the brink of complete disrepair. Built around 1490, the building has had a colourful history. The ghost of Marmaduke Buckle is said to inhabit the first floor where you can still see his name carved into the wall. The shambolic appearance of the building in the 1800s attracted many artists, but thankfully, saved by our early founders, today it’s home to a popular Italian family restaurant.
Earworm Records - Powell’s Yard
Providing the city with quality music on vinyl from right across the musical spectrum, you can find this shop tucked between the Snickleway Inn and Lily Vine.
Lily Vine - 49 Goodramgate
A charming handbag boutique, tucked under Wealden Hall’s impressive jetties.
The Chinese Laundry - Wealden Hall
At no. 51 Goodramgate you’ll find a rare example of a 15th century open hall, disguised by a traditional 16th century three-bay, three storey townhouse. This building has seen many ‘makeovers’ in its long history. Saved from ruin and restored in the 1930s, the original courtyard has been built over, however there is plenty still to see and it plays host to vintage clothes retailer The Chinese Laundry – a fabulous setting for the racks of fantastic fashion throwbacks.
York Gin
Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard, Pavement YO1 9UP
One of York’s most fascinating and elaborate surviving Tudor buildings, Herbert House was built around 1545 and has been home to four Lord Mayors. The complex of buildings has been named after the Herbert family, a wealthy dynasty of merchants and adventurers. The side alley and yard are named after Alice Peckett, wife of Lord Mayor John Peckett in 1702. Currently home to award-winning York Gin, who have embraced the building to support their brand, choose your favourite tipple or enjoy sampling the different flavours with regular tastings offered by the knowledgeable and friendly team.
St Anthony’s Hall Gardens – public gardens
Peasholme Green YO1 7PJ
This award-winning little garden, open during daylight hours, is a peaceful green idyll in the heart of the city. You can take some time out to enjoy the calm and attractive woodland style planting with acanthus, red-berried Skimmia and varieties of Viburnum, Astrantia and Astilbe. St Anthony’s Hall was originally built by an order of friars who operated a hospital in York in the 1400s. It went on to become a Blue Coat School and gaol. The Hall is currently home to Trinity Church and The Quilters’ Guild. Within the grounds you’ll also find:
Thin Ice Press - The Old School House
A new home for heritage printing presses, exhibitions and courses.
The Ghost Dispensary - Garden Studios
Offering a different experience to their shop on the Shambles, the York Ghost Merchant's Dispensary provides another opportunity to take home a highly prized little York Ghost.
Arras Restaurant - The Coach House
If you’re looking for a more interesting and thought-provoking dining experience, Arras will not disappoint!
Gillygate
YO31 7EQ
Once a backwater that led to York’s horse fair, today, Gillygate boasts a busy and vibrant shopping street leading out to York St John University and the main hospital. Backing on to the city walls, and in what would have once been the moat, you’ll find a group of elegant late 19th century buildings. In the early 1940s they were viewed as architecturally uninteresting yet were saved from demolition, in part, by the destruction of large parts of the city during World War II and the need to retain what remained of York’s inner city.
Heima - 34 Gillygate
The rear of No. 34 used to be a banana house, where the fruit would be allowed to ripen before it was sold at market. Today, you’ll find a “cave of wonders” in the form of Heima hardware store. A popular retailer for all those things you really need, and quite a lot more.
Good Folks - 36 Gillygate
Today, no. 36 is home to the Good Folks Barbers where you are assured a warm welcome and trim, but in a former life the property used to have large removable windows and a big marble slab for the display of game birds. You’ll find some wall tiles showing ducks in flight inside, a fond memory for those on the slab.
The kitchen at Fairfax House.
York Theatre Royal auditorium.
The Assembly Rooms, Blake Street.
Stonegate, an ancient thoroughfare with a colourful history.
The impressive Georgian facade of The House of Trembling Maddness.
Herbert House and Lady Peckett's Yard, home to York Gin.
St. Anthony's Hall Gardens
