Patrick Comerford
During our weekend say in York, after visiting the site of the former parish church of Saint Mary Bishophill Senior, I walked down Carr’s Lane, a cobbled lane beside the old churchyard, to see two former almshouses that have been incorporated into Middletons Hotel on Skeldergate.
Middletons Hotel is in secluded courtyard gardens within the City walls, and has 56 guest rooms spread over six historic, grade II listed buildings. It is a charming collection of brick houses and pretty gardens, with associations with the past mayors and sheriffs. The buildings are from different periods and in varying architectural styles, and they include Anne Middleton’s Hospital, the Organ Factory and the Terry Memorial Homes.
Lady Anne House is a former almshouse on Skeldergate in the Bishophill area, founded by Ann Middleton in 1659 to house widows of Freemen of the City of York. Dame Anne Middleton was the wife of Peter Middleton, a 17th century Sheriff of York. Middleton’s Hospital had 22 apartments around a small garden and housed 20 widows.
The original hospital was demolished in 1827, and rebuilt further back from the street in 1828 as a two-storey building in brick and stone. It was designed by the York architect Peter Atkinson (1780-1843), and was completed in 1829. The garden walls also date from this period.
In the centre of the façade of the building, a statue of a woman in Puritan dress is sometimes identified as Ann Middleton. The statue is believed to have survived from the original building.
The hospital was endowed with bequests by the founder in 1655, by Thomas Norfolk, George Townend and with a bequest from Lady Conyngham shared by four York hospitals. Later bequests were made by William Monckton, Stephen Beckwith, Mary W Lambert, Green Simpson, Frances Pool, John Richard and Edward Hill.
The hospital had 19 residents at the beginning of the 20th century, and each received a pension of £6 yearly and the use of one room.
The building was modernised in 1939, to house 10 almspeople or residents and a warden. However, the building was in a poor state of repair by 1972. It was bought by the owners of the hotel at 56 Skeldergate, who restored it and incorporated it into the hotel. Since 1997, it has been a Grade II* listed building.
The hotel also incorporates the Sir Joseph Terry Cottages or Terry Memorial Homes, built in the front of Middleton’s Hospital in 1899 by public subscription in memory of Sir Joseph Terry (1828-1898).
Terry was Lord Mayor of York on three occasions and was the driving force behind the success of the Terry’s chocolate brand, a major employer in York from 1767. He died in 1898 while he was standing as a Conservative candidate in a by-election in York.
The Sir Joseph Terry Cottages were two brick-built bungalow-type dwellings, built as a pair of almshouses intended for married couples over 60. They are now incorporated in the hotel, with one suite named Chocolate and the other named Orange.
Skeldergate House at 56 Skeldergate, an original part of the hotel, is a Grade II* listed building. The earlier house on the site was bought by Ralph Dodsworth in 1769. When he became Sheriff of York in 1777, he commissioned the architect John Carr to design a new house, large enough to entertain groups.
Dodsworth died in 1796, and the house was let to Thomas Smith, who bought it in 1807 and then sold it on to William Cooper in 1825. His son later brought it into business use. A carriageway was built through the building in 1925 to provide access to the rear yard, involving the demolition of some rooms and a rear service wing.
The house was owned in the mid-20th century by Hans Hess (1907-1977), director of York Art Gallery. He was a Jewish refugee who had fled Nazi Germany. His guests at Skeldergate House included Charlie Chaplin, Benjamin Britten and Cleo Laine.
The house later became a hotel and is now part of Middletons Hotel. The carriageway was filled in, restoring the building to its original appearance, in 1998-1999. As part of the restoration, it became the hotel conference suite, and more recently it has been converted into nine bedrooms and a lounge.
The three-storey building retains its original door and doorcase, much of its original plasterwork, windows and fittings and a late-19th century fireplace. The staircase was completely rebuilt, using some original furnishings.
Cromwell House was built in the late 19th century and was once. It now includes 18 bedrooms, as well as the hotel reception, lounge, restaurant and bar.
The old Organ Factory, with Victorian-style stained glass windows, was originally the workshop of York’s master organ builder Walter Hopkins. He retired in 1921, but many of his masterpieces are still in use in York and beyond.
In all, Middletons has 56 bedrooms spread across six historic Grade II listed buildings clustered around its courtyard gardens in the heart of York.
