The Red House is a

grade II* listed 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 ...

building in the city centre of

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 ...

, in England. The house lies on

Duncombe Place Duncombe Place is a street in the city centre of York, in England. History The street was first mentioned in 1346 as Lop Lane, and it later became known as Little Blake Street. Initially a very narrow street, the eastern entrance to St Leonard ...

, on the corner of

St Leonard's Place St Leonard's Place is a street in the city centre of York, in England. History The site street lay mostly within the walls of Roman Eboracum, and two Anglo-Saxon carved stones and a large coin hoard have been discovered in excavations in the ...

. Its site is believed to be that of the east gate of

St Leonard's Hospital St Leonard's Hospital may refer to: * St Leonard's Hospital, Ferndown, a community hospital in Dorset * St Leonard's Hospital, Hackney St Leonard's Hospital is a hospital in Hackney, North London. History The hospital was founded as the infir ...

. This was later replaced by a house which formed part of Mint Yard, which was purchased by the York Corporation in 1675. In 1701, that house was leased by Sir William Robinson, MP for

, and in about 1714 he rebuilt the house, retaining only the basement and ground floor walls at each side.

William Etty William Etty (10 March 1787 – 13 November 1849) was an English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude figures. He was the first significant British painter of nudes and still lifes. Born in York, he left scho ...

designed another house for Robinson, and he is sometimes claimed to have also designed The Red House. In 1725, the corporation asked Robinson to surrender his lease so that it could use the house, but he refused, and the corporation instead built York Mansion House. Robinson died in 1736, and passed the house to Richard Elcock. In 1740, it was leased to John Burton, and later passed through numerous hands. The house originally had an L-shaped plan, but in the late-18th century, an extension turned it into a near-rectangular plan. At the same time, a new

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

was added to the building. The front of the house is of brick, painted red, with quoins and various dressings in stone, painted white. It is of five bays, with two main storeys, a basement and an attic. Eight stone steps lead up to the front door, and there are early 19th-century cast iron railings in front. Inside, it has some original fireplaces, panelling and cornices. The main staircase is late 18th-century, while the secondary staircase is early 18th-century. In 1954, the house was grade II* listed. In the late-20th century, it was used as the Leisure Services Department of the

City of York Council City of York Council is the municipal governing body of the City of York, a unitary authority in Yorkshire, England. It is composed of 47 councillors, one, two, or three for each of the 21 electoral wards of York. It is responsible for all local ...

. In 1999, the council sold it to 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 ...

. The Trust lets it out for use as an antique centre, operated by Tim Hogarth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red House, The Grade II* listed buildings in York Houses completed in 1714 Houses in North Yorkshire Duncombe Place