The roof of the hall is of two spans supported by a row of large central timber posts. I would love to visit York and take in the York Mystery Plays. The undercroft also provides access to an attached chapel built for the use of the ill and poor in the hospital as well as the members of the Merchant Adventurers' Guild.
The land around the Hall was for centuries full of houses and shops with a track way or road running down to the River Foss (as can be seen in the image, although we now know that the Hall would not have been rendered as the timber framing would have been left exposed). Both of these halls are still in existence. THE HALL. It was founded in 1356, originally for charitable and religious objectives, but it quickly acquired a commercial purpose. The pre-1960 archive is described in A Guide to the Archives of the Company of Merchant Adventurers of York by David M. Smith, (Borthwick Texts, York, 1990). A fine example of this earlier Coat of Arms can be found above the Fossgate entrance. And in many ways they are still important today. The merchant adventurers of these towns were separate but affiliated bodies. This stunning timber framed building was constructed by a fraternity made up of York citizens to provide a base for charity, worship and business in the centre of the city of the city on the banks of the River Foss. Until granted their own Coat of Arms in 1969 the Company used that of the Merchant Adventurers of England. The Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol was a separate group of investors, chartered by Edward VI in 1552. This was a way of educating a mostly illiterate audience. Charter of incorporation granted to the Mistery of Mercers of the City of York, 1430, Charter incorporation of the Mistery of Mercers as the Society of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York, 1581, Grant of Arms by the College of Arms, 1969, Court minutes, 1677- 1985 (6 volumes, earlier minutes occur in the Cartulary), Court of Assistants minute books, 1770-1776, 1933-1966, with agendas, reports and attendance registers, 1852-1985, Court of Assistants draft minutes, 1951-1959, Minute book of the Committee appointed to assist the Governor in prosecuting persons infringing the rights and privileges of the Merchants Company, 1825-1828, with land sale committee minutes, 1827-1831 and sale poster, 1831, Ordinances, 15th century, c1500, 1502 (15th century ordinances occur in the Cartulary); registers of ordinances and acts, with copy wills, rentals and lists of apprentices, c1600-1796; copies of acts and ordinances of 1603-1739, 18th-19th century (5 volumes). The most impressive part of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is the Great Hall, on the upper floor. Have you found an error with this catalogue description? The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York In 1357 a number of important men and women came together to form a religious fraternity and to build the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall. h�b```�tɩ� Ā B�,@�q���7���ݘw3T��A28qFp�d�Y��f05����AТ�����Bq�k>�t �
They were made at a Carmelite Friary close to the Hall and are the earliest to be made in York since the Romans left England almost 1,000 years before the Hall was constructed. These included vintners, butchers and scriveners (people who wrote and illustrated manuscripts), and many others. Records of elections of governors and other officers, nominations, wardens' bonds, minutes and correspondence 1537/8-1951.
They have such an important place in history. Whilst the other, not currently on display is a rare collection of York Hall-Marked silver.