The York Assembly Rooms is an 18th-century

assembly rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...

building in

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, originally used as a place for high class social gatherings in the city. The building is situated on Blake Street and is 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 I ...

. Designed by

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Ea ...

it is one of the earliest

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

buildings in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...

and possibly the earliest neoclassical building in Europe. Construction began in 1730 and was completed in 1735, but it was used beginning in 1732. After a fire in 1773, alterations were made to the Lesser Assembly Room to the designs of Sir John O'Corall. The front steps of the portico were later replaced by an internal set in 1791. Lord Burlington's original front facade was replaced in 1828 by a Greek Revival portico designed by J. P. Pritchett. In 1925, York Corporation purchased the building and made further alterations in 1939 through 1951. 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 ...

purchased the Assembly Rooms in 2002 and are responsible for the building's maintenance. It currently operates as an Ask Italian but is open for public viewing.

References

External links

Assembly Rooms page on the site of York Conservation TrustAssembly Rooms page on the site History of York
Assembly rooms Grade I listed buildings in York Grade I listed assembly rooms Dance venues in England {{NorthYorkshire-struct-stub