How fortunate that my daughter in York included me in her support "bubble", so that throughout the Pandemic restrictions I have continued to look after her children. Travel into York has continued, not always through the city centre, but this month's blog looks at some of the buildings on just a couple of hundred yards of a street called Bootham which leads to Bootham Bar, a gate in the City walls, from the direction of Easingwold and the north. When you are in a hurry you dash by and never give a thought to who built particular houses, or why. York is full of interest and here is just a little snippet from no more than a five minute walk on one street. Bootham is an odd name for a street. Drawing travellers down towards the Bar or gate in the city walls, it was lined with booths for tradespeople, and hence the name. This is part of a very old building called Ingram's Hospital. One advantage of the "Shut down" is that there has not been as much traffic. This is normally a very busy road leading into and out of the city. This was built by Sir Arthur Ingram as an Alms House. Arthur Ingram was born sometime in the 1560s, before 1571 ish, and died 1642. He was the son of Hugh Ingram, a tallow chandler, and his wife Ann daughter of Richard Goldthorpe. a haberdasher of York. Arthur was involved in money lending and politics (he could have been a man of our own times!), and became the Secretary of the Council of the North, a powerful body that ruled the North of England from York. This post paid him a salary of £700 p.a. in 1613. This is a portrait of Sir Arthur Ingram by George Geldorp [1595 - 1665] which is at Temple Newsam near Leeds. Sir Arthur was shrewd, or ruthless, depending on whether he was taking advantage of you or not, and benefitted from the difficulty of others. He soon had a portfolio of land which included Temple Newsam and property in York, together worth £6,000 p.a.. He became Sheriff of Yorkshire and an M.P. for York. Ingrams Hospital was built as an Almshouse for ten poor widows in 1632. It consisted of very basic accommodation and a chapel. Each widow had a small sitting room and a narrow stair leading to an upper chamber and was allowed £5 per annum and a gown every three years . At the back were gardens and outside privvies. Arthur Ingram bought the site in 1630 for £50. The hospital continued as Almshouses until 1957. This little snip of a map shows that there were ten tiny rooms each side of the central tower which housed the chapel. On the other side of the road set back is Bootham Park Hospital. Bootham Park Hospital was built as the County Lunatic Asylum by Robert Hay Drummond who was the Archbishop of York. It was the fifth purpose built asylum in the country. This picture of Archbishop Drummond was painted by Andrea Soldi [1703 - 1771] and is in the York Art Gallery. The Hospital was founded in 1772 and finished in 1777, the architect was John Carr. Little was understood then about mental illness (and some would still say the same), and the treatment was not always kind, so soon afterwards The Society of Friends (Quakers) established another asylum called The Retreat in York in 1790, which is still open today. Robert Hay Drummond was from an aristocratic family and lived at Brodsworth Hall near Doncaster, but he died at Bishopthorpe in 1776. Bishopthorpe Palace is where all Archbishops of York live. A bit further along Bootham there is the rather grand building of Bootham School. Difficult to get a photograph of it without standing in the middle of the road. This is a boarding school for boys founded by the Society of Friends in 1823 and moved to this location in 1846. It occupies a house built by John Carr, architect, born 1723 at Horbury near Wakefield and died 1807. John Carr was son of Robert Carr, mason and architect. This portrait of John Carr is by William Beechey [1753 - 1839] and is at the National Portrait Gallery. He was an architect for both the West and North Ridings of Yorkshire, designed many bridges, and prestigious buildings. In York he designed the Court House and the grandstand at the race course. Next door to BoothamSchool there is a plaque to Joseph Rowntree 1836 - 1925. He must be one of the most famous sons of York. This is Joseph Rowntree in 1862. He was son of another Joseph Rowntree who had come from Scarborough to be a grocer in York. Joseph senior was a prominent Quaker and along with Samuel Tuke was a founder of the Quaker Schools on Bootham and The Mount. This is part of the 1841 census for the Rowntree household who were on a street called The Pavement. I know, confusing to call a street The Pavement, but obviously it was paved when everywhere else was just mud. Joseph Rowntree senior was a grocer, his wife was Sarah, and they had sons John, Joseph, Henry and a baby called Hannah. Also in the house were seven assistant grocers, a governess and four female servants. So this gives an idea of the status of the family. And this is part of the 1881 census for Bootham where Joseph Rowntree the son had now become a cocoa and chocolate manufacturer. First Joseph was apprenticed to his father in the grocery trade in 1852. He then married Julia Eliza Seebohm, daughter of Quaker wool merchant from Bradford, Benjamin Seebohm, who had originally come from Germany. Sadly Julia Eliza died and Joseph then married her cousin Emma Antoinette Seebohm, which is why on the census above Joseph's wife had as her birth place "Germany, Hamburg". Seebohm then became a first name in the Rowntree family. Joseph's younger brother Henry had gone into the business of cocoa, chocolate and chicory, taking over an established company run by the Tukes. However, he was not very good with sums and soon the business got into trouble. Joseph then left the grocery to help his brother out. Henry was the overseer for the manufacturing, and Joseph was the bookkeeper. It was several years before they were able to turn the business around from making a loss to making a profit. But by 1881 Joseph began making "pastilles" and as the company expanded acquired land on Haxby Road and the rest is history, as they say. This became a huge success and Joseph Rowntree became the largest employer in York. Joseph Rowntree's name is still attached to several institutions and foundations because of his deeply held religious and moral views. Holding strong Quaker principals was important to him and he conducted business with the welfare of his employees at the heart of all he did. He had good employment conditions, pensions, schools and medical facilities for the staff and their families. The model village of New Earswick and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation are lasting legacies and similar to those of other Quaker chocolate manufacturers, Cadburys, Frys etc. Joseph Rowntree was chairman of the company until he was 87. He died at Clifton Lodge, York, in 1825 24th of February. The last buiding I will look at is another Almshouse. This one is called the Wandesford Hospital and has a handy link back to the the dales. This was founded by Mary Wandesford [ 1655 - 1726] and was built in 1739. Mary was the daughter of Christopher Wandesford of Kirklington near Bedale and his wife Eleanor Lowther of Lowther near Penrith. Mary never married, and when she died left a will written in 1725 - in which she wished to set up a trust for the use and benefit of "Tenn Poore gentlewomen who were never marryed and who shall be of the Religion which is taught and practised in the Church of England as by Law established who shall retire from the hurrey and noise of the world into a religious house or Protestant retirement which shall be provided for them and then shall be obliged to continue there for life ..." so a sort of Anglican nunnery. All of my life I have known of a farm at Brompton on Swale called "Old Maid's Farm" and as a child I assumed it was run by some old spinster sisters and could imagine what they looked like in my mind. How wrong I was. Old Maid's Farm at Brompton on Swale was purchased by Mary Wandesford as an endowment for her Almshouse in York. And because the rent went towards the upkeep of the "gentlewomen who never marryed" it gained its name. The property in York was built on a piece of land purchased from William Wilberforce of Hull. A bust of Mary Wandesford was put in a niche above the doorway. Evidently the Wandesford family were not happy with this bequest and contested Mary's will but it was upheld by the Court of Chancery and the first unmarried gentlewomen took up residence in 1743. And here are some of the Old Maids in the 1841 census. The ages were rounded down to the nearest five.
Sarah Askwith 70, Elizabeth Lakeland 70, Elizabeth Sauler 65, Mary Maclean 65, Mary Richardson, governess, 30 (perhaps she was in charge), Esther Hirst 65, Elizabeth ?Pally 70, Mary Atkinson 30, Ann Clarke 65. So just a few hundred yards along one street in York and history is tumbling out before every footstep, but only if you have the time to pause and look. Mostly I am in a great hurry, but sometimes it is nice to just take time.
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AuthorThis is where you can share creativity with me. I believe that everyone has something creative within them, and it is a joy to find ways of being creative. Blogging is NEW to me, so here goes ..... Archives
January 2024
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