Changing uses of the Hall (19th and 20th centuries)

A guild is a meeting place where traders from towns or cities would come together to regulate trade, enforce trading standards and conduct business deals.

The York Merchant Adventurers' Hall was built in 1357, when a group of wealthy individuals came together to form a religious fraternity known as the ‘The Fraternity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary’. At this point, the Hall was used mainly as a location for religious meetings and charitable acts, such as taking care of the elderly and impoverished, who were housed in the Trinity Hospital on site.

Under a royal decree in 1357, the fraternity began to support York traders who were struggling following the Black Death, and continued to do so for the next 600 years. With the exception of fish and salt, the guild controlled all imports into York, meaning it played a vital role in the city's economic development.

By 1430 the main uses of the Hall had changed from charity and religion enterprises to trade. In York, like may other towns, it was compulsory for traders to join the guild. It had a monopoly over goods that entered York, meaning if people wanted to trade, they had to do so under the guidance of the mercers, whilst being members themselves.

Throughout the 20th century the uses of the Hall continued to be more community-focused, and by the end of the century switched to be more culturally based as interest in the heritage sector began to grow, resulting from globalisation and increasing awareness of the importance of history.

The 20th century marked the beginning of a changing vision for the future uses of the Hall. In the early part of the century it underwent a period of restoration funded primarily by the community. This was more than just a preservation scheme, as the new adaptations were designed to make the Hall more suitable to host events and invoke further community engagement. The archives show 'it was to become a living place of assembly, full of people and voices, colours and ceremonies, plans and enterprises'. From this point onwards, the Hall started to be used for a wide range of purposes outside its previous scope, including hosting scientific talks, beauty pageants, feasts, auctions and even women's basketball games!

These events embodied the new vision for the Hall. Take the auction of 1979 for instance. This event was centred around saving the York Arts Centre (the surviving archives of which are also held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives) with 'high bids encouraged'. Participants in the event noted how it would be a 'great artistic loss if the centre was shut down'. This highlights the transformation of the Hall, not only in terms of more unique uses, but also with an increased emphasis on public engagement and the betterment of the city of York itself.

In the latter half of the 20th century, public interest in the Hall grew due to it being one of the best preserved guilds in the world and it was transformed into a museum, and also a venue available for private hire.