YORK HISTORY CONTENTS:
Source=h:/!Genuki/RecordTranscriptions/ARY/YorkHistoryBaines.txt
A History of York
from Baine's Gazetteer (1823)
Part 10
MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS OF YORK
Prisons and Courts of Justice
The prisons in York are the Castle, the New Gaol, the new House
of Correction, and St. Peter's prison. The Castle is situated
at the end of Castlegate, near the confluence of the Foss and
the Ouse. Formerly the waters of the Foss were drawn in a deep
moat round the Castle, and in the early part of the last century,
this prison was inaccessible, except by two draw-bridges; but
the moat is now entirely filled up, and the access is by folding
doors, and a porter's lodge, from Castlegate. According to Drake,
there was a Castle in York before the time of William I. at the
place called "the Old Bayle;" but that fortress has
now disappeared, and the present Castle was, as our historian
conjectures, built on a Roman tower, by the Conqueror, and made
of unusual strength to keep the citizens and the Northumbrians
in awe of their tyrant. For some ages after the conquest this
was the constant residence of the high Sheriffs of the county
in succession, as the Mansion-house is now the residence of each
successive Lord Mayor: it was likewise the storehouse for the
king's magazines, and the treasury for such part of his revenue
as was kept in the North. It was then a fortress, in which however,
the Assizes were held; but towards the end of the seventeenth
century, it was converted into a prison, to which purpose it has
been ever since appropriated. Though the Assizes for the three
Ridings are held here, the Castle is not within any of them, nor
is it in the jurisdiction of the city; it is extra parochial,
though it is assessed, and bears charges with the parish of St.
Mary, Castlegate. The extent of the city's liberties are within
twenty-nine yards of the Castle gate, and the boundary is marked
by the city arms, of five lions, cut in stone, and placed in the
wall on each side of the street.
(Note: The city arms were formerly argent, with only a cross
gules. The live Lions were afterwards added by William the Conqueror,
in honour of the five brave magistrates, Clifford, Houngate, Talbot,
Lascelles, and Errington, who so valiantly defended the city against
his arms, in 1070, until obliged to surrender through famine.)
The Castle, with its appendages, occupies about four acres
of ground; the walls are 1100 yards round, and within the walls,
in front of the Castle, is an area, called the Castle yard, of
the size of about an acre, in which the county meetings for the
election of knights of the shire, and other public business are
held.
The buildings, which form three sides of a square, consist
of the County Gaol, in front, the Record Office, &c. to the
East; and the County Hall, to the West of the Castle yard; the
wall to the North, which, with the lodge, completes the square,
is built at the foot of the mound, formed by the ruins of Clifford's
tower. The County Gaol occupies the site on which the towers
of the Castle anciently stood. These towers having sunk into a
ruinous state during a lapse of six centuries, they were taken
down in the year 1701, and the present structure was raised in
their stead. The funds for this public work were obtained by a
tax of three-pence in the pound on all lands, &c. within the
County; and, at the time of its erection, was considered an edifice
"so noble and complete, as to exceed all others of the kind
in Britain, perhaps in Europe." This building consists of
two wings, divided by the felons' court yard. The right wing is
a prison for debtors, ascended by a large double series of steps,
and contains twenty-two rooms, sixteen feet square, and nearly
twelve feet high, with apartments for the use of the governor;
which office is at present, and has been for many years filled,
much to the public satisfaction, by Mr. Wm. Staveley.
(Note: This is considered a situation of great trust and responsibility,
and the Governor has a salary of £700 a year, besides the
prison fees, which amount to a considerable sum annually.)
In a room at the entrance to this wing, is a large closet or
recess, occupied by the under gaoler, Wilson, in which the curiosities
of the Castle, quaintly called "the King's plate," consisting
of the deadly weapons, and heavy chains of the most notorious
offenders, are deposited and exhibited. In the left wing of this
building is a chapel, used for divine service, and ascended by
steps, corresponding to those on the right. The Rev. William Flower,
jun. is the present Chaplain, and the Rev. James Richardson, is
the Lecturer. The felons' cells in the rear of the court yard,
are in general about seven feet square, and eight feet high. The
building on the East side of the Castle yard contains apartments
for the Clerk of Assize, the county records, an indictment office,
hospital rooms, (attended by Mr. George Champney, the surgeon,)
and cells for the female prisoners; it was erected in the year
1780, and considerably enlarged three years afterwards. The whole
length of this building is 150 feet, and its front is adorned
with an elegant colonade, with four Ionic pillars, corresponding
to the County-hall. The County-hall, or Basilica, on the West
side of the area, was built in 1763, at the charge of the county,
John Ramsden, of Byrom, Esq. being then High Sheriff. In 1777,
it was rebuilt in a more modern style of architecture, with a
portico entrance of six Ionic columns, thirty feet high, surmounted
by an elegant statue of Justice, and other emblematic devices.
The length of this building is 150 feet, and its breadth 44 feet.
Here the business of the various courts is transacted through
the year, and the Lent and Lammas Assizes are held in the crown
court to the left, and the nisi prius court to the right of the
entrance. Near the Grand Jury room, in the rear of the building,
with an aspect to the Ouse, is the New Drop, used for the execution
of criminals. Formerly, the last and most awful sentence of the
law was executed on a gallows, out of Micklegate bar, at a place
called Tyburn, about a mile from the city; but, in 1802, the present
platform was erected, and on the 28th of August, in that year,
the first execution in this situation took place. Since that time,
to August, 1822, seventy-three malefactors have been executed
here, making an average sacrifice in this county alone of nearly
four lives a year to the criminal laws. The county of York is
in that judicial division of the kingdom, called the Northern
Circuit; and the High Sheriff for the county, for the year 1822;
is Richard Bethell, Esq. of Rise, in Holderness.
The New Gaol, for the City and Ainsty, of York, is a
handsome and commodious stone building, of modern erection, begun
in the year 1802, and completed in 1807. This structure occupies
part of the site of the ancient castle, called "the Old Bayle,"
near Skeldergate postern. The outer wall, which is of brick, incloses
about three quarters of a square mile in the centre of which stands
the prison, with a neat court yard in front, adorned with a cupola
and vase, which are seen in various parts of the city and its
neighbourhood. The building consists of three stories, part of
which is occupied by felons, and the second and third by debtors.
The office of governor is filled by Mr. George Rylah, who has
a salary of £150 a year, exclusive of gaol fees; his apartments
form an outshot building behind the prison, in the attic story
of which is a chapel, in which the Rev. William Flower, sen. the
Chaplain, preaches a sermon every alternate Sunday, and reads
prayers every Thursday evening to the prisoners. Mr. George Champney
discharges the duties of surgeon to this prison. The executions
here are happily very rare; during the last fifteen years there
have been no more than two, and when they take place a scaffold
is erected without the wall, next to the Old Bayle hill.
The Gaol for the imprisonment and correction of "lessor
criminals," was formerly a part of St. Anthony's hall, on
Peaseholme green; but in the year 1814, a structure was completed
on Toft-green, under the direction of Mr. Peter Atkinson, architect,
and city steward, which may rank amongst the best constructed
prisons in the kingdom. The expense attendant upon the erection
of this prison, like that for the building of the city gaol, was
defrayed by a joint assessment on the City and on the Ainsty,
for the use of both of which it is intended, the former contributing
three-fifths and the latter two-fifths. The governor is Mr. John
King; the Rev. Wm. Flower, sen. is the Chaplain. and performs
service once every alternate Sunday, and reads prayers every Tuesday
evening. This establishment, which admits of the classification
of prisoners, may serve as a model to those who may be engaged
in the erection or management of prisons.
The Courts of Justice in York are the Castle, for the County,
(as has been already explained); Guild hall, for the City; and
the Court of Pleas, for the liberty of St. Peter's. The Ecclesiastical
Court is held in the Minster-yard, and the list of its officers
will be found appended to that of the Cathedral clergy.
The Corporation, Mansion House and Guildhall
The government of the city of York, like the government of
the kingdom of Great Britain, is in three estates-- the Lord Mayor,
as Sovereign; the Aldermen and body of twenty-four, as a House
of Lords: and the Common Council, corresponding in some degree
to the House of Commons. The members and officers of the Corporation
for the year 1822, are:-
The Right Hon. ISAAC SPENCER, LORD MAYOR, (2d Time)
(Whose office will expire on the 3d of February, 1823.)
|
Robert Sinclair, Esq. Recorder. |
John Pemberton Heywood, and S. W. Nicholl, Esqrs. City Counsel |
|
ALDERMEN. |
!Thomas Wilson, Esq. (and father of the city.) | !George Peacock, Esq. | *W.H. Hearon, Esq |
!William Hotham, Esq. | !Right Hon. Lord Dundas | *John Dale, Esq. |
!William Ellis, Esq. | *Thomas Smith. Esq. | *R. Chaloner, Esq. M.P. |
*John Kilby, Esq. | *William Dunslay, Esq. | *James Saunders, Esq. |
Those marked thus ! have served the Office of Lord Mayor twice. Those marked thus * have served the Office once. |
|
SHERIFFS. |
John Cobb, Esq. | Charles Liddell, Esq. (Whose Offices expire on the 2d. of September,1823.) | Richard Townsend, Esq. Town Clerk. |
|
Gentlemen who have served the Office of Sheriff, called the Twenty-Four. |
George Healey, gent. | Geo.Dodsworth,gent. | Joseph Agar, gent. |
Robert Cattle, gent. | John Hodgson | Edmund Gill |
William Hornby | Stephen Hartley | William Blanchard |
Thomas Beal | James Shepherd | John Sutcliffe |
Thomas Rayson | G.W.Wentworth | Robert Lakeland |
George Darbyshire | Cook Taylor | William Oldfield |
William Cooper | William Bilton | John Wormald |
George Wilkinson | John Jackson | George Fettes |
George Cressey | Thomas Cattley | Wm.Stephenson Clark |
Joseph Volans | Christopher Cattle | |
|
CHAMBERLAINS.....Whose Offices expire the 3d of February, 1823. |
Mr. John Allanson Bulmer | Mr. Edward Elgin | Mr. Wm. Thurnham |
Mr. John Wilson | Mr. Wm. Strickland, jun. | Mr. Matthew Hornsey |
COMMON COUNCILMEN
Walmgate Ward, | Monk Ward, | Bootham Ward, | Micklegate Ward |
Mr. Thomas Bewlay, Foreman of the Commons | Mr. Thomas Bell | Mr. George Burnill | Mr. William Stead |
Mr. Matthew Browne | Mr. John Hurwood | Mr. Thomas Brearey | Mr. Matthew Walker |
Mr. Joseph Davis | Mr. Richard Kilner | Mr. Samuel Knapton | Mr. William Coates |
Mr. William Cartwright | Mr. James Whitwell | Mr. William Judson | Mr. Edward Seagrave |
Mr. Thomas Fowler | Mr. William Ingram | Mr. William Hudson | Mr. William Ferrand |
Mr. John Ward | Mr. William Scawin | Mr. Richard Williamson | Mr. John Kirlew |
Mr. Joseph Wood | Mr. William Dalton | Mr. John Walker | Mr. William Stead, jun. |
Mr. Thomas Sanderson | Mr. Emanuel Siddall | Mr. James Barber | Mr. William Chapman |
Mr. Francis Richardson | Mr. John Benson | Mr. Richard Brown | Mr. Richard Rawdon |
Mr. John James Baker | Mr. Robert Gibson | Mr. William Cattell | Mr. Leonard Overend |
Mr. George Ellis | Mr. John Lawton | Mr. George Ellis | Mr. Thomas Rayson, jun. |
Mr. Thomas Benson | Mr. Richard Hornby | Mr. Joseph Marshall | Mr. Henry Cave |
Mr. James Day | Mr. Thomas Wilkinson | Mr. William Robinson | Mr. Thomas Peacock |
Mr. William Peacock | Mr. John Pearson | Mr. Robert Pulleyn | Mr. Francis Calvert |
Mr. John Ickeringill | Mr. William Cowling | Mr. William Hargrove | Mr. Michael Varvill |
Mr. John Slater | Mr. Henry Cobb | Mr. Edward Jackson | Mr. Christopher Watson |
Mr. William Blanchard | Mr. William Pearson | Mr. Robert Jennings | Mr. Henry Steward |
Mr. William Evers | Mr. William Huble | Mr. William Storry | Mr. John Simpson |
Prothonotary, John Seymour, Esq.- City Steward, Mr. Peter Atkinson,
Esquires to the Lord Mayor - Mr William Baynes and Mr. William Eadon.
Chaplain. Rev. William Flower, Sen.
Four Officers at Mace, viz.
Thomas Kimber, Francis Burr, John Sanderson and Wm. Bell.
Chief Constable for the City, Mr. William Baynes, Petergate.
Chief Constables for Ainsty,
Mr. Tho. Beal, Dring Houses, & Mr. Geo. Steward, Blossom st.
Porter to Lord Mayor, Geo. Lund.
Police Officer, Wm.Pardoe
City Informer, Jas. Pardoe.
The Coroners for the City and Ainsty, are
Messrs. Samuel Cowling, Davygate, and Robert Ellison, Castlegate;
and for the Liberty of St. Peter's,
Mr. John Plowman, of Haxby, and Mr. John Richardson, of Colliergate, York.
The Mayor of York, by ancient prescription, assumes the title
of Lord, which peculiar honour, as we have already seen,
was conferred on this Chief Magistrate, by Richard II. in 1389.
The same sovereign, in 1393, presented Robert Scroope, the then
Lord Mayor, with a large gilt mace, to be borne before him, and
a cup of maintenance to the sword-bearer.
The Lord Mayor is the
King's Lieutenant in his absence: he takes the chair in the presence
of the Judge of Assize, who sits on his right hand; at the Sessions
he is supreme; and no act or law for the government of the city
can be valid without his presence. This officer is annually chosen
on the 15th of January, and on the 3d of February, the Lord Mayor
elect, as he is called during the interval, enters upon his office.
If the Lord Mayor be married, his wife is dignified with the title
of Lady Mayoress, and in addressing her, the term " My Lady,"
is applied. In Drake's time, though the husband parted with both
honour and title at the time he was divested of office, yet by
the courtesy of York, in favour of the fair sex, her ladyship
still enjoyed her title, by no other right perhaps, but that of
an old rhyming proverb, which says.
" He is a Lord for a year and a day, But she is a Lady
for ever and for ay."
This courtesy towards the Lady Mayoress has, however, now ceased,
and at the expiration of her husband's year of office, the term
'My Lady' is dropped, unless she was previously entitled
to it by marriage, or in her own right.
The residence of the Lord Mayor is the Mansion house, a stately
edifice, built in the year 1726. and which stands at the north
end of Coney Street, near Lendal, and occupies the site of the
ancient chapel of the Guild of St. Christopher. The revenue of
the Lord Mayor was formerly derived chiefly from the toll of corn
coming to the market, but that toll in 1784, was liberally relinquished
by the corporation, and this mansion is the scene of his hospitalities.
The stateroom, where the chief magistrate gives his entertainments,
is 49 feet 6 inches in length, and 27 feet 9 inches in breadth,
and is lighted in front by a double tier of windows. There are
here eight valuable portraits in excellent preservation: of his
present Majesty, presented by him to the Corporation; King William
III.; George II.; the late Marquis of Rockingham; Sir John Lister
Kaye, M.P. and Lord Mayor, in 1737; Lord Bingley, M.P. and Lord
Mayor in 1757, (when George Lane Fox, Esq.); Sir Wm. M. Milner,
M.P. and Lord Mayor in 1797 and 1798; Lord Dundas, Lord Mayor
in 1811, (when the Hon. Lawrence Dundas, M.P.) and in 1821, when
Lord Dundas, and the only English Peer ever Lord Mayor of York.
It is worthy of remark, that York had the honour to set the Corporation
of London the example of erecting a Mansion-House for their Lord
Mayor.
The Guild Hall is situated behind the Mansion-House, and was
built in the year 1446. In this fine Gothic hall, which is ninety-six
feet long, by forty-three feet wide, the Assizes for the city
are held, and it is then formed into two courts, the Crown Court
at the end of the Hall, and the Nisi Prius Court near the entrance.
The elections for members of parliament are also held here, and
it may be proper in this place to mention, that the city of York
is at present represented in parliament by Marmaduke Wyvill and
Robert Chaloner, Esqrs. who, like the corporation of the city
they represent, are both of the whig party. Three times a week,
namely, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the Lord Mayor and
at least one alderman sit at the Guild Hall, for the administration
of justice; and the business of the Quarter Sessions for the city
is also transacted in this place. At the end of this hall are
several rooms for the grand and petit juries, one of which is
called the Inner Room, in which the County Court, for the recovery
of debts in the County, not exceeding Five Pounds, consolidated
with the Sheriffs Turn Court, and the Court of Common Pleas, is
held weekly, usually on the Tuesday.
The Council Chambers is a building of modern erection adjoining
the Guild Hall. When the old Council Chambers of the city upon
Ouse-Bridge, were taken down in, 1810, these chambers were built
adjoining the Inner Room, and the Lower House, namely,
the Common Council, hold their deliberations in one of them, while
the Upper house, consisting of the Lord Mayor, Recorder,
City Council, Aldermen, Sheriffs, and the Gentlemen of the Twenty-Four
assemble, in the Upper Chamber.
Libraries
Amongst its other public institutions York enjoys the advantage
of an excellent Subscription Library, containing about ten thousand
volumes in the various branches of science and literature. This
institution was commenced in the year 1794, but it was not till
the year 1811, that the present Library Room, which is very eligibly
situated in St. Helen's Square, was built. The number of members
at present amounts to four hundred and seventy-seven; the mode
of admission is by ballot, and the terms are ten guineas entrance,
and an annual subscription of twenty-six shillings, paid in advance.
Mr. Joseph Shepherd is the Librarian. There are in York some other
Libraries, Subscription and Circulating, the principal of which
is, the Select Subscription Library, in Lady Peckett's yard, Pavement.
On the ground floor, under the York Subscription Library, in
St. Helen's Square, there is a Subscription News Room, handsomely
fitted up, and furnished with the London and country newspapers.
Subscribers are admitted by ballot, and the members of the room
have each the privilege of introducing a friend, not resident
in York, for one month, on registering his name in a book kept
for that purpose. The annual subscription is one guinea, and the
admission fee ten shillings and sixpence. There are also two other
Subscription News Rooms, one at the York Tavern, and the other,
called the York Club Room, at Etridge's Hotel.
Cavalry Barracks
The Cavalry Barracks, erected in 1796, are situated at a distance
of about a mile S.W. of the city, on the Fulford road. The cost
of these erections, with the twelve acres of ground appropriated
to the purpose, has been little short of £30,000 and the
accommodation they afford is for three field officers, five captains,
nine sub-alterns, four quarter-masters, two hundred and forty
non-commissioned officers and privates, and 266 horses. The parade
ground is very extensive, and in front of the range appropriated
to the officers is a large grass plot, for the accommodation of
the numerous and fashionable company who frequently attend to
hear the fine martial Band which plays upon the parade. Mr. Anthony
Lefroy is the barrack master.
Data transcribed from:
Baines Gazetteer 1823
Scan, OCR and html software by Colin Hinson.
Checking and correction by Richard Tetley.
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