St Anthony's Hall

Not to be confused with St. Anthony Hall.

St Anthony's Hall in York, England, is a former medieval guildhall and Grade I listed building. It currently houses the Quilt Museum and Gallery.

History

The Hall, located on Peasholme Green, was built between 1446 and 1453[1] on the site of a chapel of St Anthony for either the Guild of St Martin[2] or the Guild of St Anthony (which was founded in 1446).[1] After the decline of the Guilds, it was used between 1627 and 1705 for various purposes: as an arsenal, a military hospital and a prison. Between 1705 and 1947 it housed the York Bluecoat School, after which it was offered to the York Civic Trust. In 1953, it became the Borthwick Institute for Historical Research (now the Borthwick Institute for Archives),[3] which moved in 2005 to a purpose-built building next to the J B Morrell Library on the campus of the University of York. The Quilt Museum and Gallery opened in the Hall in 2008.

Architecture

The Hall resembles the Merchant Adventurers' Hall in that it has two floors, of which the lower one consisted of a hospital and a chapel. In contrast to the Merchants' Hall, however, the walls of the lower floor are of stone (rather than brick) and the outer walls of the timber-framed upper floor were rebuilt in brick in the 17th century.).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Pevsner, Nikolaus; and Neave, David (1995) [1972]. Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (2nd ed.). London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071061-2. 
  2. ^ a b Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (1981). York: Historic Buildings in the Central Area, a Photographic Record. London: HMSO. ISBN 0-11-700912-1. 
  3. ^ Evans, Antonia (ed) (2002). The York Book. York: Blue Bridge. p. 28. ISBN 0-9542749-0-3.