Cottage connected to York’s historic Medieval Merchant Taylors Hall attracts huge demand from prospective tenants
A cottage connected to one of the world's finest surviving medieval guild halls in York proved in high demand when placed on the market to let – attracting more than 50 enquiries from prospective tenants in just a week.
The city centre one-bedroom cottage, connected to the Merchant Taylors Hall, was built nearly 300 years ago, originally as a hospital for just four people, but is now let out as a single residence.
It remains owned by The Company of Merchant Taylors, a charity which continues to play a significant role in York today, conserving the Medieval Guild Halls, which are more than 600 years old.
The charity also supports many young people through offering grants in arts, craftsmanship, and music, whilst making the Hall itself available as an extraordinary venue for weddings, dinners, conferences, and meetings.
The Cottage, built in 1730 to house four elderly Tailors, is known as the Almshouse and provides a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. On the external wall, a plaque details the purpose of the building, naming the original wardens.
‘A unique property’
Sam Claridge, Property & Business Development Manager at Gro Residential Management in York, said: “This is of course a very unique property and one we are very privileged to have been given the responsibility of letting on behalf of The Company of Merchant Taylors.
“The links with our business come through Barry Crux, founder of our Garness Group sister York company Barry Crux & Company, who has of course played such an influential role in the city for many decades, who is a member and has also held the position of Master of the Company back in 2023.”
A grant giving charity, The Merchant Taylors uses income from letting the Hall, endowment funds and member donations to maintain and preserve the Hall and to support the development of skill and talent of York based young people in the areas of arts, music and crafts.
It distributes grants totalling approximately £15,000 each year to people under the age of 30 either living in York or with a connection to York.
“Perhaps not surprisingly, this property generated a large amount of interest from the moment we placed it on the market to let, and we had over 50 enquiries within the first week, filling all available viewing slots,” added Mr Claridge
“It is a good sized one-bedroom property and the company has invested to make it a comfortable space with secondary glazing and wooden panelling throughout.
“It has been let to tenants who are doing a history PhD, which is also a perfect fit for the company, and a fantastic example of how historic buildings can be used in the modern work to link the past with the present.”
