Mansion House reopens to public after restoration

Phase one of the restoration work at The Mansion House is complete

A Georgian house believed to be one of the earliest civic buildings to be built in the classical style in England has reopened to the public, after the first phase of its £1.3m restoration has been completed.

York's Mansion House is also celebrating its 300th anniversary this year, and the reopening comes ahead of it hosting a Georgian Festival this month.

Hannah Bellerby, project architect from Buttress Architects, said it had been a "privilege" to work on such a historically significant site.

The building's foundation stone was laid in 1725, and Ms Bellerby said the repair work would "ensure its longevity for future generations to enjoy."

The Mansion House closed its door in November 2024 to undergo the work, which included roof repairs and renovating the Lord Mayor's drawing room and the main staircase.

Lord Mayor of York, Martin Rowley BEM said that while the building no longer functioned as his official lived-in residence, it remained an important part of the city.

"Lord Mayors have been the custodians of this building over the years, but essentially it belongs to the people," he said.

Lord Mayor Martin Rowley BEM says the building is no longer only for the "privileged few"

"There are things in this building that are unique to the Mansion House. It is part of York's history and heritage," Rowley said.

"For centuries it's been a building for the privileged and the few, and right now it is open to everybody."

As part of the restoration work to the front of the house, Buttress Architects collaborated with stonemasons at York Minster.

"There were a greater amount of stone repairs than we'd anticipated which we could only find out when we had close access from the scaffold," Ms Bellerby added.

"York Minster was able to help us source the stone we needed for those repairs, so it was really great to see other organisations in the city come together to help with the work".

The Lord Mayor of York and Hannah Bellerby say the property is a major part of the city's heritage

The second phase of restoration works will start in August and are due for completion in December.

One of the upcoming tasks is to hang the drawing room's new wallpaper, which is a replica of 18th Century fragments found during the phase one restoration.

Mansion House manager and curator, Richard Pollitt, said it would be "amazing" to welcome the public to come and explore the house again, with its new look.

"It's amazing to have the house back open, it has just been a fascinating journey once again in discovering how they built the house," he said.

"I think it's important that York keeps its heritage in great condition".

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