Historical Plaques
The Site of the Guild Hall
Source credited to Peter Higginbotham at http://www.workhouses.org.uk/
Northalllerton’s Guild Hall stood on the West end of the High Street, just north of what is now the entrance to the Applegarth car park. The guild hall was built in 1444 and the town’s business was conducted here for over 150 years. When the North Riding Quarter Sessions were held in Northallerton, it was here where they were held. It was also the scene of capital punishment and justice, as seven townsmen were hanged for their part in the Rising of the North here.
The Rising of the North or the Revolt of the Northern Earls was an uprising in the North of England, especially around Northumbria and Cumbria where many, dissatisfied with the policies of Elizabeth I, tried to instate Mary Queen of Scots on to the English throne. The revolt was unsuccessful, and resulted in many earls being beheaded, along with many of their followers, including our townsmen!
The building then became the towns workhouse from 1720 to 1858. It could house 28 inmates; largely they dealt with linen spinning for the local linen industry. Conditions were apparently squalid, in 1816 it took three days for the workhouse yard to be cleared of rubbish! Later on it was described as ‘one of the most wretched poor houses in England with a medical man fully qualified but seldom sober!’ Thankfully we’ve come on along way since then!
It was pulled down in the 1860’s, and Jefferson Willan & Co. solicitors kindly paid for the plaque to be erected.
The Old Grammar School
The earliest reference to the school is the appointment of Robert Colstan to take charge of ‘our schools’ of Allerton.
The school educated a great many notable churchmen and academics, including the famous Doctor John Radcliffe, who became the physician to the King and Queen William and Mary. Radcliffe is renowned in Oxford where he went to university. Interestingly he bequeathed a large sum of money to Oxford University for the founding of a library, this provided much hilarity for many as he was famous for having read very little.
The present building on the site is the solicitors Place, Blair and Hatch, which was erected in 1776. By the end of the nineteenth century the school had ‘no great reputation’. By 1902 it had only thirteen pupils, and the situation had got even worse in 1903 when its master was convicted of being drunk and disorderly!
The Site of the Former Vicarages
Since the thirteenth century Northallerton’s vicarages have been built opposite the church near the present cemetery gates.
John Fisher, later a Bishop of Rochester was beheaded by King Henry VIII, built his vicarage here in 1491.
The plaque here was funded by the Allertonshire Civic Society.
The Site of the Bishops Palace
The older part of the cemetery occupies the site of the Bishop of Durham’s Palace. Destruction of Northallerton’s castle was ordered in 1175, and a smaller building, later known as a palace , was erected nearer the town.
Over the centuries, many famous visitors stayed there, including, to name but a few, Kings John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward III and Henry IV.
Unfortunately nothing remains of the site today, having been dismantled in 1613!
The plaque was funded by the Northallerton and Romanby Joint Burial Committee.
Porch House
Porch House is the oldest private house in Northallerton. A beam bearing the carved inscription ‘RM 1584 MM’ was exposed in 1844 and indicates that the house was probably built that year for Richard Metcalfe, a member of the family notable for many generations in the Northallerton area.
There is a rumour that Charles I was a guest here in 1640, just before the start of the English Civil War in 1642, when the country was already splitting into two separate camps. It is also suggested that Charles stayed here under open arrest by the Scots for nine days in 1647, when he was all but defeated by Cromwell and the Puritans. His release through the eponymous porch door signalled the change from an absolute monarchy which Charles had been practising for the majority of his reign, and a constitutional monarchy, that would have gone some way to alleviating opposition to Charles’s rule. Unfortunately, this failed to work, and Charles was famously executed in January 1649.
Marks on an upstairs beam are said to record the counting of the king’s ransom!
The Marwoods, descendants of the Metcalfes occupied this house until the 1988, and the plaque was paid for by Jackie Smith, a one time owner of the property and Mrs. Ann Marwood.
The Rutson Hospital
The Rutson Hospital building was formally known as Vine House. The vine after which the house was named after, was, in its heyday, the largest vine in Europe: it stretched from the Masons Arms to the south of the Pack Horse Inn to the north. The post office in Northallerton was run from here until 1876, when it became the cottage hospital.
The plaque was pledged by the Northallerton Health Services Trust.
The Former Workhouse and the Site of the Carmelite Friary
The military hospital established early in Second World War, later developed into the Friarage Hospital. For the history of this site click here.
The plaque was donated by the Northallerton Health Services Trust.
The Austin Friary and The Fleece Inn
In 1340 William de Alverton gave eight acres of land to the Austin Friars for them to build a church and place to live. The site of the friary is now occupied by the Fleece Inn and the two buildings to the south. Other than the donation of land there is no evidence of the friary’s existence but we can assume that it was dissolved in the 1530s.
For more information on the Fleece Inn click this link.
Scottish and Newcastle Retail and their tenant Mr. Ron Matthews paid for the plaque to the Inn.
The Golden Lion
Until the late eighteenth century the Great North Road from London to Edinburgh passed through Northallerton. Built in the early 1700’s the Golden Lion was the most important of several coaching inns in the town and such famous coaches such as the ‘Royal Mail’, ‘High Flyer’ and the ‘Princess Charlotte’ called here. At one time the inn provided stabling for sixty horses.
The Grand Duke Nicolas, who went onto become Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, (One of the most reactionary Tsars in Russian history, he was also the Great Grandfather of Nicolas II the last ever Russian Tsar before the Russian Revolution of 1917) stayed here in 1816.
The Hotel was featured in the film ‘The Way to the Stars’ after the Second World War.
Regal Hotels funded the plaque placed on the hotel.
Register House
In the early eighteenth century, facilities for registering deeds, conveyances and wills were only provided in Yorkshire and London. In 1726 registration was offered on market days at the Kings Head, Northallerton, but a purpose built registry was constructed on Zetland Street in 1736. The choice of Northallerton was one of the determining factors in the town becoming the capital of the riding. In 1782 a new office was erected and the old office was extended and converted into a house for the Registrar. Following the erection of a new deeds registry on Racecourse Lane, the house was occupied by the then Clerk of the County Council. Recently it has provided offices for a probationary service.
The plaque was paid for by the North Yorkshire County Council.
The Georgian Theatre and the Primitive Methodist church
The Plaque commemorating the building’s varied history was generously provided by the proprietors of the Sportman’s Club.
The Old Golden Lion and Frank Clarkson’s Shop
The Morrison’s Store opposite the Town Hall incorporates the seventeenth century coaching inn, The Old Golden Lion. John Wesley (the man credited with starting the Methodist movement) preached here in 1745. and described the people of Northallerton as ‘a noble people’, however when he re-visited the town twenty-five years later he noted in his journal that the people were ‘careless.’
The store also incorporates the shop of the late Frank Clarkson, a notable silversmith. Mr. Clarkson made the chain of office worn by the towns mayor, and he achieved national renown when he produced miniature silverware for Queen Mary’s famous dolls house.
The store that occupied the site before Morrison’s, which was Safeway, paid for the plaque.
Other Important Sites and Buildings:
The Friarage Hospital
The Carmelite order (a Roman Catholic religious group) built a priory on the site of the Friarage Hospital, and from this the hospital took its name. Unfortunately the building was torn down in the sixteenth century in Henry VIII’s quest to destroy the monasteries, following his instatement as the Head of the Church in England. In 2006, however, a reminder of its existence was unearthed with the discovery of the remains of eight monks, serving to illustrate the rich past of Northallerton, and its presence at the forefront of nationwide politics.
The Inns of Northallerton
Throughout time Northallerton has been a central point in the journey between London and Edinburgh, and with the advent of coaches and railways it became even more important.
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It is therefore little surprise that The Fleece Inn, reportedly the oldest pub in town, became able to boast housing one of the country’s most famous characters; Charles Dickens.
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The Station Hotel has much of its own history too, a former coaching house called the Horse and Jockey, taking its name from the racecourse that sat opposite. Between 1903-6 County Hall was built by W.Brierley of York…just where the main grandstand used to be. When the race meetings were still held, the station was very convenient, but the railway was also their downfall, as the main line bisected the course! The Golden Lion is also a prominent Georgian building on the high street, kindly bequeathing one of their old bars a couple of years ago to the Town Hall
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At the far end of the Tickle Toby yard is a former theatre. It was built in 1800 as one of a chain of theatres, including Richmond, belonging to Samuel Butler. Unfortunately the approach seems to have been plagued by pickpockets and in the 1830s it closed and became a Primitive Methodist church.
All Saints Parish Church
The first church in Northallerton was built on the site of the current All Saints Parish Church in the early seventh century, constructed solely of wood, and thus nothing remains of it. However in 885AD a SaxonChurch was built whose remains were discovered during restoration work. Beyond the Old Cemetery is the site of the Bishop's Palace, where the moat can still be seen although now dry.
South Parade
Before 1800, the main road ran down to Thirsk, and traffic to Boroughbridge or Bedale went down Romanby Road and then Malpas Road. After accidents to coaches taking the corner too fast the Turnpike Trust built South Parade through the fields, but the large houses along it only appeared after the arrival of the Railway in 1841.
Durham House
One of the most imposing buildings on the High street, just beyond the round-a-bout, is Durham House, built by John Carr of York for Daniel Mitford in 1754.Its stone front was unusual for the time as carriage of stone to Northallerton before the railways was extremely expensive. So the rest of the building is brick! Its imposing gatehouse can still be seen on East Road. For comparison, the house now occupied by Waterstones and Fatface is of very similar date.