Barley Hall
Discover what medieval life was really like in Barley Hall – a living, breathing and authentically renovated 15th century townhouse, as inhabited by the Snawsell family headed by William Snawsell, a goldsmith and Master of the King’s Mint, Alderman, Sheriff and ultimately Mayor of the City of York.
The house offers a fascinating glimpse into the past and into the lives of this prosperous middle class family, who lived when Richard III was on the throne and contains many examples of medieval architecture: high ceilinged rooms, original timber frames, an authentically reconstructed Great Hall, and possibly the only example of a horn window in England.
With lovingly reconstructed medieval furnishings and artefacts that you can touch, open, peer into and even sit on, Barley Hall offers much more than a museum, and a vibrant calendar of events means that you could well find yourself in a Medieval Market complete with costumed craftsmen selling their wares, or plunged into celebrations of Christmas in a candlelit Great Hall festooned with yuletide decorations and full of festive cheer.
One of the most amazing things about Barley Hall is the fact that for hundreds of years it lay hidden in the heart of York, disguised by a jumble of brick structures and even used at one time as a plumbers’ showroom.
Fortunately the York Archaeological Trust stepped in to rescue the building in 1987, and Barley Hall underwent a full archaeological excavation back to the 14th century levels which revealed the original floor of the Great Hall and the remains of an exterior stairway to the first floor.
On other special days there will be costumed informative guides who can take you on a tour round the townhouse, describing functions of rooms and objects, or you can follow the excellent audio guide narrated by Robert Hardy and Judi Dench at your own pace. You can even don medieval garb yourself if the mood so takes you!
Ironically, many inhabitants and tourists in York literally walked right through one of the internal corridors of the house as they traversed from Stonegate to Swinegate and Grape Lane via the Coffee Yard snickleway; it wasn’t until the 1980s when the entire building was designated a dangerous structure and recommended for demolition that its medieval origins were revealed.
Restored to replicate how it would have looked around 1483 as the inhabitants would themselves have known it, paying incredible attention to detail and authenticity, Barley House has now become one of the few examples of a furnished medieval house in the country. The name Barley House has nothing to do with the crop, but is so called after the Archaeological Trust’s first chairman, the late Professor Maurice Barley.
Opening Times:
Open throughout the year from 4 days to all week during school holidays.
From 10.00am till 4.00pm or 5.00pm
Last admission an hour before closing.
Address:
Barley Hall
2 Coffee Yard
Off Stonegate
York
YO1 8AR
Tel: 01904 610275
Barley Hall Website