Barley Hall
Encyclopedia
Barley Hall is a reconstructed medieval townhouse in the city of York
, England
. Originally built around 1360 by the monks of Nostell Priory
, it was later extended in the 15th century. The property went into a slow decline and by the 19th and 20th centuries heavily sub-divided and in an increasingly poor physical condition. It was bought by the York Archaeological Trust
in 1987, renamed Barley Hall, and heavily restored in a controversial project to form a museum
.
. The earliest parts of the building were constructed by Prior Thomas de Dereford of Nostell Priory
; the priory formed a politically important group of local monks who used it as a hospice, or town house, when visiting the city. By the 1430s, however, the priory had fallen on hard times and the monks decided to rent it out to raise additional revenue. Around this time there was new building work on the site involving the poor quality reconstruction of parts of the great hall. In the 1460s the building was rented to William Snawsell, a prominent local goldsmith
, who paid 53 shillings and 4 pence for the property, a very high rent for the period. Snawsell was a supporter of Richard III
during the troubled period of the Wars of the Roses
, and had given up the property by 1489.
The later history of Barley Hall is less clear. By the 17th century the building had been divided into smaller units, with part of it turned into an alleyway. By the Victorian era
the property had been subdivided into yet smaller units, partitioned by brick walls, and this pattern of use continued into the 20th century. By the 1970s the property was used by a local plumber
as a storage unit and showroom.
in 1987, when a further process of archaeological investigation began to inform a decision on the final use of the site.
The decision on what to do with Barley Hall proved controversial. The original wooden timbers of the building had degraded significantly; only 30% were still usable and the site had been extensively altered since the original medieval period. The Trust decided to reconstruct the building as it might have appeared in 1483 with the intention of it forming a museum
, naming it Barley Hall after the Trust's chairman, Professor Maurice Barley. The post-medieval fabric of the building was largely destroyed and a new timber frame was built off site and then moved into York over a ten-day period, a challenging operation due to the physical constraints of the immediate neighbourhood.
Replica furniture and fittings were created for the property, based on an inventory made in 1478. Supporters of the scheme, including English Heritage
, viewed this as an attempt to produce an innovative way of presenting the past, similar to the Trust's work at the nearby Jorvik Viking Centre
. The care and accuracy of the work was praised and the new museum received a generally positive public reaction.
Critics of the reconstruction raised concerns over the nature of the preservation work. Academic Raphael Samuel has noted that the restoration was heavily influenced by the late-20th century tradition of living history
, in which "reinterpretation" gives way to "retrofitting", and where the past is "faked up to be more palatable than the here and now". The chairman of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
critiqued the work as producing a replica, rather than a restored building, condemned the destruction of the later periods of the hall and noted that it was "another contribution to our Disneyland heritage". Historian Sarah Beckwith suggests that York is now so heavily "museumized that very few of its features escape the construction of an imaginary and commodified past", a problem she argues is typified by Barley Hall.
and a buttery
. On the first floor is the parlour
, which overlooks the hall, a gallery and several bedchambers. Barley Hall is a grade II listed building.
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Originally built around 1360 by the monks of Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
, it was later extended in the 15th century. The property went into a slow decline and by the 19th and 20th centuries heavily sub-divided and in an increasingly poor physical condition. It was bought by the York Archaeological Trust
York Archaeological Trust
The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the City of York. It carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York, Yorkshire and throughout Britain and beyond.It also created and now runs...
in 1987, renamed Barley Hall, and heavily restored in a controversial project to form a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
14th - 20th centuries
Barley Hall was first built around 1360 in the city of YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The earliest parts of the building were constructed by Prior Thomas de Dereford of Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house located in Nostell, near Crofton close to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, approached by the Doncaster road from Wakefield...
; the priory formed a politically important group of local monks who used it as a hospice, or town house, when visiting the city. By the 1430s, however, the priory had fallen on hard times and the monks decided to rent it out to raise additional revenue. Around this time there was new building work on the site involving the poor quality reconstruction of parts of the great hall. In the 1460s the building was rented to William Snawsell, a prominent local goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
, who paid 53 shillings and 4 pence for the property, a very high rent for the period. Snawsell was a supporter of Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
during the troubled period of the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, and had given up the property by 1489.
The later history of Barley Hall is less clear. By the 17th century the building had been divided into smaller units, with part of it turned into an alleyway. By the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
the property had been subdivided into yet smaller units, partitioned by brick walls, and this pattern of use continued into the 20th century. By the 1970s the property was used by a local plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
as a storage unit and showroom.
Late 20th - 21st centuries
By the early 1980s, the building was in a dangerously unsafe condition and was scheduled for demolition to make way for offices and apartments. As part of this process, however, the medieval architecture of the building was rediscovered in 1980; the site was sold for redevelopment in 1984 and then purchased by the York Archaeological TrustYork Archaeological Trust
The York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited is an educational charity, established in 1972 in the City of York. It carries out archaeological investigations, fieldwork, excavation and research in York, Yorkshire and throughout Britain and beyond.It also created and now runs...
in 1987, when a further process of archaeological investigation began to inform a decision on the final use of the site.
The decision on what to do with Barley Hall proved controversial. The original wooden timbers of the building had degraded significantly; only 30% were still usable and the site had been extensively altered since the original medieval period. The Trust decided to reconstruct the building as it might have appeared in 1483 with the intention of it forming a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, naming it Barley Hall after the Trust's chairman, Professor Maurice Barley. The post-medieval fabric of the building was largely destroyed and a new timber frame was built off site and then moved into York over a ten-day period, a challenging operation due to the physical constraints of the immediate neighbourhood.
Replica furniture and fittings were created for the property, based on an inventory made in 1478. Supporters of the scheme, including English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
, viewed this as an attempt to produce an innovative way of presenting the past, similar to the Trust's work at the nearby Jorvik Viking Centre
Jorvik Viking Centre
The JORVIK Viking Centre is a museum and visitor attraction in York, England. It was created by the York Archaeological Trust.- Background :Cravens, a firm of confectioners founded in 1803, relocated from their factory in Coppergate, a street in central York, in 1966...
. The care and accuracy of the work was praised and the new museum received a generally positive public reaction.
Critics of the reconstruction raised concerns over the nature of the preservation work. Academic Raphael Samuel has noted that the restoration was heavily influenced by the late-20th century tradition of living history
Living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...
, in which "reinterpretation" gives way to "retrofitting", and where the past is "faked up to be more palatable than the here and now". The chairman of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings was founded by William Morris, Philip Webb and J.J.Stevenson, and other notable members of the Pre Raphaelite brotherhood, in 1877, to oppose what they saw as the insensitive renovation of ancient buildings then occurring in Victorian...
critiqued the work as producing a replica, rather than a restored building, condemned the destruction of the later periods of the hall and noted that it was "another contribution to our Disneyland heritage". Historian Sarah Beckwith suggests that York is now so heavily "museumized that very few of its features escape the construction of an imaginary and commodified past", a problem she argues is typified by Barley Hall.
Architecture
On the ground floor, Barley Hall comprises a number of rooms. The store room, used as an admissions area, contains a large quantity of original 1360 woodwork, which leads onto a second store room, now called the Steward's room. At the heart of the building is the Great Hall, a 1430 construction, decorated on the basis of equivalents elsewhere in the city of York. The building also includes a pantryPantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
and a buttery
Buttery
Buttery may refer to:* Buttery , a savoury Scottish bread roll* Buttery , a storeroom for liquor*Buttery A service room in a large medieval household.* Buttery, a cafe that sells food and drinksPeople named Buttery:...
. On the first floor is the parlour
Parlour
Parlour , from the French word parloir, from parler , denotes an "audience chamber". In parts of the United Kingdom and the United States, parlours are common names for certain types of food service houses, restaurants or special service areas, such as tattoo parlors...
, which overlooks the hall, a gallery and several bedchambers. Barley Hall is a grade II listed building.