The Mansion House is a municipal building in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

, England. The building, which is owned and managed by Doncaster Council, is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The mansion house stands on the site of the Carmelite Friary, which had been established in Doncaster in 1350 and remained until its dissolution and destruction on 13 November 1538. During the 18th century, Doncaster's position on the Great North Road brought wealth to the town. The town's corporation was frequently called on to host entertainments, initially at the mayor's house or the Angel or Three Cranes inns. In 1719, they took a lease on a house in the

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

for holding feasts, but let this lapse around 1727. They then bought a site on the High Street in 1738, with the intention of building a permanent base for entertaining, but little construction took place for several years. In 1746, James Paine was appointed as architect: although young, Paine had already worked on

Nostell Priory Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, in England, near Crofton and on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733 and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its co ...

and had designed Heath House, both near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

. Mansion Houses had already been constructed in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

(later demolished),

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The building was designed in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

, built in

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

stone at a cost of £8,000, and was officially opened in April 1749. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of three bays facing onto the High Street. The ground floor was rusticated and featured a wide central opening flanked by two square windows. The first floor featured a

piano nobile ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a '' palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house ...

, formed by a central round headed window flanked by

sash window A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

s with

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

s, all separated by pairs of

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric or ...

columns supporting an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a Cornice (architecture), cornice which helps to support them. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally transl ...

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

. William Lindley extended the building between 1801 and 1806, adding an

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

storey, a rear banqueting hall and rear landing. King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, accompanied by

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

, visited the mansion house and conferred city status on Doncaster in November 2022.

Friends of Doncaster Mansion House

The charity Friends of Doncaster Mansion House (Registered Charity Number 1171398) was formed in January 2015 "to support Doncaster Council to conserve, restore, research, interpret and display the Mansion House and its contents for the benefit for all sections of the community and for future generation to open up the Mansion House to the public". Friends of the Mansion House organised an open day at the mansion house in May 2016. In March 2017, the Friends of Doncaster Mansion House launched the James Paine Festival to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of the architect.

Notes

References

External links

{{Commonscat-inline
Doncaster Mansion House official website
Houses completed in 1748 Buildings and structures in Doncaster Grade I listed buildings in South Yorkshire Mayors' mansions in the United Kingdom

History

Friends of Doncaster Mansion House

See also

Notes

References

External links