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Skeldergate House Hotel

Grade II* listed buildings in YorkUse British English from November 2022
Skeldergate House Hotel, York 01
Skeldergate House Hotel, York 01

Skeldergate House Hotel is a Grade II* listed building in the Bishophill area of central York, in England. An earlier house at 56 Skeldergate was purchased by Ralph Dodsworth in 1769. In 1777, he became Sheriff of York, and it is believed that this inspired him to commission John Carr to design him a new house, large enough to entertain groups. Dodsworth died in 1796, and the house was let to the merchant Thomas Smith, who purchased it in 1807, then sold it to William Cooper in 1825, for £900. His son later brought it into business use. In 1925, a carriageway was constructed through the building, to provide access to the rear yard, leading to the demolition of some rooms and a rear service wing.In the mid-20th century, the house was owned by Hans Hess, director of York Art Gallery. In the property, he hosted guests including Charlie Chaplin, Benjamin Britten and Cleo Laine. It later became a hotel, more recently, part of Middletons Hotel. In 1998/1999, the carriageway was filled in, restoring the building to its original appearance. As part of the restoration, it became the hotel's conference suite, and more recently has been converted into nine bedrooms and a lounge. The three-storey building is built of brick. Most of the windows in the main front are original, as is the door and doorcase. Inside, most of the original fittings of the left-hand ground floor room survive, along with a late-19th century fireplace. The entrance hall also has original plasterwork, and some survives in the stair hall and first-floor landing. The staircase has been completely rebuilt, using some original furnishings.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Skeldergate House Hotel (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Skeldergate House Hotel
Skeldergate, York Bishophill

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Wikipedia: Skeldergate House HotelContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.95535 ° E -1.08363 °
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Skeldergate

Skeldergate
YO1 6DG York, Bishophill
England, United Kingdom
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Skeldergate House Hotel, York 01
Skeldergate House Hotel, York 01
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Golden Ball, York
Golden Ball, York

The Golden Ball is a pub in the Bishophill area of central York, in England. The first record of the pub was in 1773. The core part of the building was constructed in the early 19th century. In 1883, a house for the publican was constructed by Benson & Minks, adjoining the pub. The pub was sold to Braime's Brewery in 1884, and this in 1902 was taken over by John Smith's Brewery. In 1929, the pub was constructed by their architect Bertram Wilson. He combined the two buildings, raised the ceiling height in the older part of the building, and decorated the front of the pub. In the 1990s, an additional room was added to the pub, from what was formerly a private area. The pub has otherwise been little altered since the 1920s, and is described by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as "the most complete surviving inter-war scheme by John Smith's". In 2010, the pub was grade II listed on the initiative of CAMRA, and it appears on that organisation's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. In 2012, the pub was taken over by a co-operative of local residents. Since then, it has held beer festivals, an annual summer fete, and sells works by local artists. It also hosts local music nights. The pub has two storeys and a cellar. The whole building is constructed of brick, but the older part, on the corner of Victor Street, has tiling at the ground floor level, and is rendered at the first floor. Its entrance is on Cromwell Road, opening onto a corridor, with the former smoke bar on the left, and the public bar on the right. Historic England notes that it has the only known surviving example of a "bar-side seating alcove", known as a "hall". There is a now-disused doorway for take-away sales, signed "Jug & Bottle Dept". The ground floor windows on Victor Street incorporate etched glass, advertising John Smiths and Magnet Ales. Many internal fittings survive from the 1929 redesign, including doors, tiling, flooring, and the bar.

Baile Hill
Baile Hill

Baile Hill is a man-made earth mound in the Bishophill area of York, England. It is the only remaining feature of what was known as the Old Baile. The origins of Baile Hill date back to 1068. Having seized York in that year, William the Conqueror built a castle on the south side of the city close to the River Ouse. Then, as a response to a rebellion the following year, a second castle was built on the opposite side of the river. There is no clear evidence which of these castles was built first, but it is generally thought to be the one which stood on the site of the later York Castle on the east side of the river, followed by the Old Baile on the west side. Like its opposite counterpart, the Old Baile was of motte and bailey design. The motte was approximately 40 feet (12 m) high and 180 feet (66 m) in diameter, and was surrounded by a large ditch. A flight of steps led to a wooden structure at the top which was surrounded by a fence, also made of wood. The bailey lay to the north-west of the motte and was rectangular. Around its perimeter was an earth rampart and an outer ditch. The castle, it is believed, was not in regular use for long. By the 13th century it was in the hands of the Archbishop of York and in 1322 Archbishop Melton agreed to defend it in times of war. By c. 1340 part of the city wall had been built along the south-east and south-west sides of the Old Baile, incorporating the existing ramparts and ditch, however, these defences were rarely called into use. The only notable occasion was the siege of York in 1644 during the Civil War, when Baile Hill was used as a royalist gun emplacement. Apart from that, however, the Old Baile was used mainly for grazing and recreation activities, particularly archery during the medieval period. Today, Baile Hill stands at the junction of Baile Hill Terrace and Cromwell Road. The only other visible evidence of the former castle are two slight dips in the city wall rampart, one next to Baile Hill and the other close to Victoria Bar, which indicate the location of the former ditch. Houses built during the 1880s cover the rest of the Old Baile.

Kings Arms, York
Kings Arms, York

The Kings Arms is a pub lying by the River Ouse in the city centre of York, in England. The building lies across King's Staith from the River Ouse, on its corner with King Street. The building is the only surviving building to form part of First Water Lane, a medieval street that was demolished in a slum clearance program in 1852 and was rebuilt as King Street. A road sign on the building reads; "King Street (formerly Kergate)", as a tribute to the original medieval name of First Water Lane.It was built in the early-17th century, with the upper floor and north and east walls timber framed. The south and west walls are particularly thick, to provide some protection against flooding, and constructed of brick and stone, some of which is reused from Mediaeval buildings. The building originally had no fireplaces or internal walls, and so is believed to have been constructed as a warehouse or custom house from trade coming up the river.The building was recorded as the "Kings Arms" pub by 1795, but in 1867 it was renamed as the "Ouse Bridge Inn", for the nearby Ouse Bridge. By 1898, it was owned by the Samuel Smith Old Brewery. They renovated it with new doors and windows, and the rear wing by King Street appears to have been completely rebuilt, the north and east walls rebuilt in brick. In 1973, the pub was again renovated, and the "Kings Arms" name was reinstated. In 1983, the pub was Grade II listed. The pub floods, on average, four times a year, and does not hold flood insurance. Historically, it would remain open for regulars even when flooded, but this is no longer permitted, as the river water may be contaminated. In 1982, the brewery put a new flood protocol in place. A flood gate is put across the front door, and customers are served in the back bar. Once the flood waters reach the back door, the pub is closed, and all the fixtures and fittings can be dismantled and stored upstairs. The beer and electrics are all upstairs and so are not damaged even by floodwaters 4.5 metres above usual river levels. A chart on the wall marks historic flood heights, the highest being 2000, when floodwater nearly reached the ceiling of the bar.The pub sign depicts Richard III of England. A legend claims that the bodies of executed criminals were laid out in the building, before being hanged from Ouse Bridge.