Fairfax House is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

located at No. 27, Castlegate,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England, near Clifford's Tower and

York Castle Museum York Castle Museum is a museum located in York, North Yorkshire, England, on the site of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The museum itself was founded by John L. Kirk in 1938, and is housed in prison b ...

. It was probably built in the early 1740s for a local merchant and in 1759 it was purchased by Charles Gregory Fairfax, 9th

Viscount Fairfax of Emley Viscount Fairfax of Emley, in the County of Tipperary, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 10 February 1629 for Sir Thomas Fairfax, previously Member of Parliament for Hedon. The fifth Viscount was Lord Lieutenant of the North ...

, who arranged for the interior to be remodelled by John Carr (architect). After the Viscount's death in 1772, the house was sold and subsequently passed through a number of local families before spending some time as a Gentleman's Club, a Building Society and a cinema. The property was bought by York Civic Trust in the 1980s and completely restored to its former grandeur. Fairfax House is now a museum open to the public and a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

In 1761, Viscount Fairfax employed the Yorkshire architect John Carr to remodel the house at 27 Castlegate. The work was completed in 1765. The interior has some of Yorkshire's finest mid-C18 plasterwork by James Henderson (fl. c. 1755–1778) and Giuseppe (Joseph) Cortese (fl. c. 1745–1778) and carved woodwork. The

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

balustrades on the staircases were by Maurice Tobin (fl. 1762) Wrought iron gates and railings fronting Castlegate were removed when the street was widened, but were recorded by York architect and artist Ridsdale Tait. Fairfax House, cinema entrance - geograph

Fairfax House, cinema entrance - geograph

Viscount Fairfax died in 1772 and his title became extinct. Subsequent occupants included Sir Walter Vavasour, 6th Baronet of Haslewood (1780), William Danby (1787), Peregrine Wentworth (1792), Sir John Lister Kaye, 1st Baronet Lister-Kaye of Grange (1820) and Mrs Ann Mary Pemberton (1840–65). At some point after this, Fairfax House, renamed St. George's Hall, became neglected and fell into disrepair, and in the late 19th and early 20th century, part of the property was used as a dance hall. In 1921, St George's Cinema, adjacent to Fairfax House, was opened and the building was expanded. It closed in 1970 and the City Council acquired the dilapidated building. The City sold it to

York Civic Trust York Civic Trust is a membership organisation and a registered charity based in York, UK. Its primary function is to "preserve, protect and advise on the historic fabric of York". It is based in Fairfax House. Foundation York Civic Trust was fo ...

, which between 1982 and 1984 under architect Francis Johnson renovated the building and turned the defunct cinema's entrance into the main entrance to Fairfax House. The

York Conservation Trust The York Conservation Trust is a trust that buys and restores significant historical buildings in York, England, and then makes them available to rent. It was originally an initiative of former Lord Mayor John Bowes Morrell, who started acquiring ...

subsequently purchased the house, leasing it back to the Civic Trust. On the death in 1980 of Noel Terry (of the

Terry's Terry's is a British chocolate and confectionery maker, formerly based in York, England, until 2005, and re-established in 2019 as Terry's Chocolate Co and based in London. The company was founded in 1767. The company's headquarters and fact ...

chocolate business), his collection of Georgian furniture and clocks was donated to York Civic Trust and subsequently housed in the period rooms of Fairfax House. The collection has since been expanded by acquisition and donation, including in summer 2017 a re-discovered wooden panel carved by

Grinling Gibbons Grinling Gibbons (4 April 1648 – 3 August 1721) was an Anglo-Dutch sculptor and wood carver known for his work in England, including Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and other London churches, Petworth House and othe ...

while learning his trade in York. York Civic Trust headquarters is in the house, which is open for the public to see the rooms and exhibitions.

Gallery

File:Fairfax House Kitchen.jpg, The Kitchen File:Fairfax House Saloon.jpg, The Saloon File:Fairfax House Drawing Room.jpg, The Drawing Room File:Fairfax House Viscount Bedroom.jpg, The Viscount Bedroom File:Fairfax House Annes Bedroom.jpg, Annes Bedroom File:Fairfax House Stairs.jpg, The main stairs File:Fairfax House Corridor.jpg, Corridor inside File:Fairfax House Dining Room.jpg, The Dining Room File:Fairfax House Library.jpg, The Library

References

External links

Fairfax House website
{{Coord, 53.9568, N, 1.0801, W, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed houses Grade I listed buildings in York Grade I listed museum buildings Museums in York Historic house museums in North Yorkshire