Chance to see conservation efforts first- hand at city’s Mansion House
YORK’S MANSION House is putting on its behind- the- scenes conservation tour for two dates only after reopening.
Restoring Grandeur: Conservation Secrets takes place today and tomorrow at the St Helen’s Square attraction.
Isaac Broadbent, senior house steward, said it was nice to be hosting such events again.
“This is slightly more intimate than our normal methods,” he said.
“People can get a closer look at some of the more interesting items and how we preserve them.”
A guide will tell ticketholders about the skill and care that goes into conserving its collections and the building itself, which reopened for general visits in July.
Steps have been put in place to ensure the safety of all visitors
and staff, and the attraction has been awarded the Visit Britain Good to Go certification, “so you can be confident of a visit that is as safe as possible,” said organisers.
Built in 1732, Mansion House is
the earliest purpose built home for a Lord Mayor in the country.
The house was created as a place for the Lord Mayor of York to entertain visitors to the city, and celebrate and support the people of York.
Following a period of extensive restoration, the building opened fully to the public for the first time in 2018, welcoming visitors from around the world to learn about the city’s past and present.
Housing the city’s civic treasures and gold and silver collections, the interiors take the visitor on a journey from the State Room to life below stairs in the restored Georgian kitchen.
The earliest image of York Mansion House is from Francis Drake’s great historical work Eboracum, completed in 1736, and the house has not been greatly altered over the years since.
In 1725 the ‘ common hall gates’ were demolished to make way for the house.
However the budgeted sum of £ 1,500 was quickly spent and the work was not finished until 1732.