Treasurer's House, York

Rhiannon Parker-Nicholls

The site of Treasurer’s House, originally known as 2 Minster’s Yard, has been a place of residence since 1091 when the first Treasurer for York Minster was appointed. However, all that remains of the original house is an external wall that now forms part of Grays Court. The residence served in this capacity until the Reformation of the English Church in 1547, when the job of the Treasurer ended. The house was sold to Archbishop Robert Holgate. Later, the house was passed to Archbishop Thomas Young, whose descendants are responsible for the structure of the present house.[http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/tudor-stuart/treasurer-s-house]

In 1717, Matthew Robinson and his wife Elizabeth became tenants of the then-owner, Miss Jane Squire. Several of Robinson’s nine surviving children were born in York, including Elizabeth Montagu and her sister, Sarah Scott, who were both baptised in Holy Trinity, Goodramgate in 1718 and 1723 respectively. The Robinson’s divided their time between York, their Yorkshire estates, and Elizabeth Drake’s relatives in Cambridge.

The House was originally divided into two, comprised of the ‘Lesser House,’ and the ‘Greater House,’ perhaps to allow Jane Squire to acquire the maximum rental income. In 1725, Matthew Robinson bought both parts of the house, raising a mortgage of £1,575 to do so. Later that same year, Robinson sold the ‘Lesser House’ to Bacon Morritt. He sold the ‘Greater House’ to Canon Finch in 1728.[https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/elizabeth-montagu-1718-1800/]

A blue plaque was erected in 2019 to commemorate Elizabeth’s connection to the house, which has been owned and managed by the National Trust since 1930.

Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

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