Latest news with #MartinRowley
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
York Mansion House to reopen to public after restoration work
A Georgian house believed to be one of the earliest civic buildings to be built in the classical style in England has reopened to the public, after the first phase of its £1.3m restoration has been Mansion House is also celebrating its 300th anniversary this year, and the reopening comes ahead of it hosting a Georgian Festival this Bellerby, project architect from Buttress Architects, said it had been a "privilege" to work on such a historically significant building's foundation stone was laid in 1725, and Ms Bellerby said the repair work would "ensure its longevity for future generations to enjoy." The Mansion House closed its door in November 2024 to undergo the work, which included roof repairs and renovating the Lord Mayor's drawing room and the main Mayor of York, Martin Rowley BEM said that while the building no longer functioned as his official lived-in residence, it remained an important part of the city. "Lord Mayors have been the custodians of this building over the years, but essentially it belongs to the people," he said. "There are things in this building that are unique to the Mansion House. It is part of York's history and heritage," Rowley said."For centuries it's been a building for the privileged and the few, and it is right now it is open to everybody."As part of the restoration work to the front of the house, Buttress Architects collaborated with stonemasons at York Minster."There were a greater amount of stone repairs than we'd anticipated which we could only find out when we had close access from the scaffold," Ms Bellerby added."York Minster was able to help us source the stone we needed for those repairs, so it was really great to see other organisations in the city come together to help with the work". The second phase of restoration works will start in August and are due for completion in of the upcoming tasks is to hang the drawing room's new wallpaper, which is a replica of 18th Century fragments found during the phase one House manager and curator, Richard Pollitt, said it would be "amazing" to welcome the public to come and explore the house again, with its new look."It's amazing to have the house back open, it has just been a fascinating journey once again in discovering how they built the house," he said."I think it's important that York keeps its heritage in great condition". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
York's new Lord Mayor feels 'weight of history'
York's new Lord Mayor has said he felt "the weight of history" on his shoulders after being appointed to the centuries-old councillor Martin Rowley was officially chosen for the office - which is second only to that of the Lord Mayor of London in terms of its status - at City of York Council's annual meeting on told the meeting he relished being the next custodian of an office which dated back about eight centuries."I'm looking forward to stepping into this historic position and acting as an ambassador for this great city during what will certainly be a busy and exciting year for York," he said. Rowley, councillor for the Osbaldwick and Derwent ward and deputy leader of the Conservative group on City of York Council, was first elected in 2019 and re-elected in Army veteran and owner of Rowley and Sons Funeral Services originally hails from Sheffield and he has lived with his wife Elizabeth and family in Osbaldwick since was awarded a British Empire Medal in 2021 for service to his community and he currently serves as the council's armed forces to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he also plays the Eb bass tuba in the York Railway Institute Development Band. Rowley said his chosen charities would be the Royal British Legion, York Against Cancer and Family Matters York, adding that he looked forward to meeting those who put others before said he had a tough act to follow in outgoing Lord Mayor Margaret Wells, and that the Labour councillor had served York with compassion, dignity and said: "I look at the names of the mayors who've gone before me and I see captains of industry like George Hudson and Joseph Rowntree. I feel the weight of history on my shoulders."But it isn't lost on me that I'm simply the next custodian of this office that dates back 800 years."Wells, of Clifton ward, was appointed York's Deputy Lord Mayor for the coming the same meeting, former Conservative councillor Paul Doughty was made Sheriff for the coming year, succeeding outgoing office holder Fiona is among the cities in England which has the right to appoint a Sheriff, granted by charter from Richard II in they served as the representative of the monarch at a local level, but the role has evolved over time and is now ceremonial. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
