Nearest Online Tour Guide page: Minster Yard (east)
The Treasurer’s House was home to the treasurers of York Minster until 1547 and its mix of styles – and its haunting ghost story – makes it a unique property in the National Trust’s portfolio.
Grays Court and the rear of York's Treasurer's House
The house has a history spanning 2,000 years, from the Roman road in the cellar to the Edwardian servants’ quarters in the attics, and thirteen period rooms in between.
The core of the Treasurer’s House is medieval, and its ‘grand hall’ is a likeness of those found in castles and manor houses from the Middle Ages: this is what the house would have been like when it was indeed the treasurer of York Minster’s house.
The house was confiscated by the English King Henry VIII in 1547 as part of the ransacking of the established Church he conducted to improve his personal wealth after his ‘break from Rome’. The house passed into private hands and has been altered considerably since then.
The building’s exterior was built by Sir George Young in about 1620. The interior was altered at the end of the seventeenth century, and the front was considerably “pulled about”, in the words of one architect, at the same time. Finally, a wealthy York industrialist called Frank Green commissioned further renovations and restorations between 1897 and 1930.
As a result of all this work, you travel through a mish-mash of architectural eras as you journey through the building, making for a very eclectic and entertaining visit.
The Treasurer’s House was the first house ever given to the National Trust complete with a collection – in this case Frank Green’s remarkable collection of antique furniture, ceramics, textiles and paintings from a 300-year period, which adds to the random, jumbled nature of the house.
The Treasurer’s House’s ghost
The house’s most famous attraction, however, is the ghost (or ghosts) that are said to haunt its cellars, for it is here that the ‘lost’ ninth legion of Roman soldiers were seen one night some thousand years after their battalion was defeated in mortal combat with the Scots… read the full story on our Roman 9th Legion page.
An attractive formal sunken garden completes the Treasurer’s House visit. The house is open from the beginning of April until the end of October.
How much is entry to the Treasurer’s House
Entry fees for the Treasurer’s House start at £2.25 for children’s entry to the Ghost Cellar up to £6 for an adult wanting a full tour of the house and Gift Aid. National Trust members get in free.