Hall Highlights: Lady Peckett’s Yard and the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall

A series of drawings by a York artist have shone a light on one of the city’s most important buildings and its continuing links with the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.

In July 2024 a group of drawings were donated to the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall of Lady Peckett’s Yard. The drawings were included in an auction brochure for the sale of ‘fine old panelling’ in 1917. The pictures were given to us by a relative of Henry Hardcastle – a pawnbroker who lived in the rooms on Lady Peckett’s Yard. Our interest was not only in the drawings by York artist, Edwin Ridsdale Tate – of which we have several others on display, but also by the building which at one time belonged to the Merchant Adventurers!

Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard have a fascinating history with origins dating back to the last years of Henry VIII’s reign. They have been the home to wealthy merchants, explorers, Lord Mayors, pawnbrokers and now a Gin shop!

Built for the Merchant Adventurers Company in 1545 and named after Christopher Herbert – the wealthy merchant who bought it in 1557. The House was remodelled to be used as a home and for commercial use and had its elaborate frontage added around 1620. Lady Peckett’s Yard was named after Alice Peckett – the wife of Lord Mayor John Peckett in 1702. The snicket was created much earlier to provide access to the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.

Part of Herbert House backing onto Lady Peckett’s yard was the home in the 19th century to a family of Pawnbrokers – John Wood (pictured in the top image), his second wife Grace (pictured on the right) and his four children. The portraits of the Wood family are on display in the Hall. His youngest daughter, Eliza  (seen sitting on a pony in the group portrait) married John’s apprentice – Henry Hardcastle (remember him?) and the family pawnbrokers continued until 1923. There was once a ground floor shop with several living rooms above – some with intricately carved 17th and 18th century panelling and a detailed oak staircase, matching some of the woodwork which is in the upper rooms of Herbert House.

What we didn’t know when we received the drawings is whether any of the staircases or several rooms of panelling still existed. Luckily, Herbert House is now in the ownership of York Conservation Trust – a charity responsible for over 70 of York’s most important buildings and we knew they would have the answer!

Lauren Marshall, the Museum Director and Rebecca Francis, Education Trust and Charity Executive were kindly invited by Lizzie Taylor, the Operations Manager for York Conservation Trust to come and see the rooms for ourselves, and we were delighted to see that some of the panelling and the staircase are still there. Although some panelling was missing, we were able to identify from the drawings the locations of where it once would have been.  Our joint quest now is to find out where the missing panelling went and whether it’s still in York!

To find out more about the fascinating history of Herbert House and Lady Peckett’s Yard, please visit York Conservation Trust’s website.

If you’ve enjoyed reading about this Hall Highlight, why not come and see the Hall for yourself? Opening times can be found below.