York Historic Environment Record

House and railings attached to verandah spanning basement area at rear. Mid C17, with earlier origins; remodelled with added third storey c1823; late C19 and C20 alteration and renovation. Front of stucco, rear of brick, ground and first floor painted; moulded cornice and low parapet at front, masking hipped roof of slate. Cast-iron verandah railings.

EXTERIOR: basement and 3 storeys; 2-window front. Doorcase of Doric pilasters, frieze and cornice, with round-arched architrave: recessed door of six raised and fielded panels beneath radial fanlight. To right, C20 shopfront. To right of first floor, inserted canted bay window with moulded dentil cornice over pulvinated frieze. Remaining windows are of 2 lights, in raised moulded architraves with painted sills. All windows are casements. Moulded bands at first and second floor levels. Rear: 3 storeys and attic; 2-window gabled front. Ground floor window to right is tripartite with panelled half doors beneath centre sash opening on to verandah. First floor window to right also tripartite with 12-pane centre sash; other windows are 12-pane sashes beneath flat arches of brick. Circular window in pedimented gable. Railings attached to verandah spanning basement area at rear are alternately straight and serpentine.

INTERIOR: cellars: room to rear left has plain fireplace in which set pot survives the removal in 1987 of early C19 range. Room to right is groined, and said to be of brick beneath later plastering. Ground floor: entrance passage leads to stairhall, both paved with diagonally set flags. At end of entrance passage, screen of two round arches beneath moulded cornice leads to stairhall; arches are moulded with keyblocks, on square section centre pier with moulded impost and plain base. Close string staircase rising to first floor has bulbous balusters, square newels with ball finials, and broad, moulded handrail. Original 2-panel door beneath stairs, to left of length of studded wall, now boarded over, leads to stone newel stair to cellars. Opposite foot of main staircase, early C18 door of 6 fielded panels in fluted architrave with frieze, angle blocks and plain cornice hood, leads to small workshop. At rear of hall, two early C19 6-panel doors have similar architraves. Rear ground floor rooms not accessible at time of survey, but in left room RCHM record ceiling with moulded beams and cornice; fluted doorcase with angle paterae; and early Victorian fireplace. In room to right, RCHM record ceiling beams carried on stop-chamfered posts; a segment-headed recess beside fireplace; and recessed cupboard with moulded surround and Gothick-glazed doors (said to have been removed). On staircase, 6-light window with moulded mullions originally contained painted glass window of 1665 by Henry Gyles, in possession of York Glaziers' Trust at time of survey. On staircase half landing is a wall cupboard with small plank door rehung on butterfly hinges. First floor: on landing, 4 moulded doorcases with 6-panel doors; one doorcase with 3-panel door rehung on iron pins. Close string staircase to second floor, closed off behind door, has stick balusters, turned newels and ramped-up moulded handrail. Front room to right: moulded beams and cornice; marble corner fireplace with tiled surround. Front left room: marble chimneypiece with cast-iron hob grate; moulded beams and cornice. Rear right room: fielded dado panelling and moulded dado rail; plank cupboard door with pegged-on panelling. Rear left room: marble chimneypiece with reeded jambs and frieze, and angle blocks carved with flower posies; moulded beams and cornice. Second floor: several re-used 6-panel doors.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: railings attached to verandah spanning basement area at rear are alternately straight and serpentine.

HISTORICAL NOTE: between c1650 and 1709, the house was the residence of Edmund Gyles, glazier, and his son Henry, the notable glass painter. It was also the meeting place of the York Virtuosi, of which Henry Gyles was a leading member, and consequently visited by a number of his distinguished contemporaries, including Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds historian; Dr Martin Lister, physician to Queen Anne; and artists William Lodge and Francis Place. For some time, Francis Place lodged with Henry Gyles. From 1813 to 1823, William Stead, carver and monumental mason, was the occupant. (City of York: RCHME: South-west of the Ouse: HMSO: 1972-: 79; York Historian: Pearson C: A Forgotten Memorial: the Family Window of E and S Gyles, etc.: York: 1986-: 34-38).
Listing NGR: SE5991451639

Derived from English Heritage LB download dated: 22/08/2005

House, No. 68, was built in the mid 17th century; an entrance hall archway, the fine staircase, and possibly the cellar doorway are of this period. In the early 19th century the upper storey was added and most of the house remodelled. Edmund Gyles (1611–76), the glasspainter, and his more famous son, Henry Gyles (1645– 1709), lived here (Davies, 171–2); later occupants were William Stead junior, stonemason (d. 1823), Thomas and William Kirby, druggists (Rate Books, Directories), and George Hornby, surgeon (Davies, 175).

The street front, three-storeyed, is in stucco-rendered brick; it has a modern shop front and, to W., a doorway of c. 1800, with Roman Doric pilasters, glazed fanlight, and door of four fielded panels. Above the entrance is a four-light casement with raised moulded architrave, and over the shop front a Victorian bay window. In the upper storey are two casements, with raised moulded architraves and plain sills. There are moulded bands to both first and second floors, and a moulded cornice. The back elevation, originally two-storeyed, of the late 17th century, has an added early 19th-century storey with a pediment-like gable containing a central bull's-eye window. The original windows were replaced at this time.

Inside, on the ground floor, a large room to N.E. has two cased ceiling beams running E. to W., supported by large posts of c. 1650, stop-chamfered on the N. side. The fireplace in the E. wall is modern, but the door-case and door and a segmental-headed recess and cupboard are of c. 1800. A room to the N.W. has in the N. wall a Regency three-light sash window, with panelled half doors below the centre sash; the raised bead moulding to the panels suggests an early 19th-century date. A doorway of c. 1820 in the S. wall has a fluted architrave with formalised floriate paterae, and in the W. wall is an early Victorian fireplace. The central stair hall leading off the entrance hall has two round-headed archways with moulded architraves and key-blocks by the S.W. corner; one gives access to the staircase. To the E., in a large well, the oak Staircase of c. 1650 has members of large scantling; the treads have been renewed in soft wood. Under the staircase half-landing, the cellar doorway has an ovolo-moulded case of c. 1650, containing a door of planks with a frame forming two large panels.

The Cellar is in two main parts. The N. Part has a chamfered ceiling beam running E.-W. In the E. Wall are two segmental-headed lamp niches, and in the W. Wall is a kitchen range with an early 19th-century grate decorated with raised bars with foliate ends. To E. Is a wine cellar with barrel-vaulted roof. The other part has large ceiling joists of the 16th or 17th century running E.-W. There is another cellar, of narrow red brick, to the S.

On the first and second floors the rooms contain various fittings of the early 19th century including windows and doorcases and a white marble fireplace with reeding and carved sprays of flowers. The staircase of c. 1820 from the first floor has a moulded mahogany rail, turned newels, plank string and square balusters.

Derived from RCHME - 'Secular Buildings: Micklegate', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in City of York, Volume 3, South west (London, 1972), pp. 79. Monument 72

Information from the NMR
Number 68 Micklegate, a former house of mid 17th century origin. It was refronted and an upper storey was added in the early 19th century. It was also altered in the late 19th and 20th centuries when it was used as a shopThe exterior is stuccoed, there are 3 storeys. The fenestration is as follows: one casement window in a moulded architrave and a canted bay window on right-hand side. There is a pilaster doorcase with entablature, radial fanlight and 6-panelled door.There is a verandah with railings which are also listed. The interior is mainly early 19th century but retains a good oak staircase of circa 1650. Edmund Gyles, the glass painter, and his more famous son Henry Gyles (1645-1709), lived here. It was the meeting place of a group of luminaries known as the York Virtuosi.

Full description
1. 5343 MICKLEGATE (north side) No 68 SE 5951 NE 15/346 1.7.68
Grade II*

2. Of mid C17 origin. Refronted and upper storey added early C19. Stucco; 3 storeys; one casement window in moulded architrave, and canted bay window on right-hand side; pilaster doorcase with
entablature, radial fanlight and 6-panelled door. Interior mainly early C19 but retains good oak staircase of circa 1650. Edmund Gyles, the glass painter, and his more famous son Henry
Gyles (1645-1709), lived here. (RCHM Vol III, Monument 72) (1)

Situated at SE 5992 5164. (2)

From amended listing:

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: railings attached to verandah spanning basement area at rear are alternately straight and serpentine.

HISTORICAL NOTE: between c1650 and 1709, the house was the residence of Edmund Gyles, glazier, and his son Henry, the notable glass painter. It was also the meeting place of the York Virtuosi, of which Henry Gyles was a leading member, consequently visited by a number of his distinguished contemporaries, including Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds historian; Dr Martin Lister, physician to Queen Anne; and artists William Lodge and Francis Place. For some time, Francis Place lodged with Henry Gyles. From 1813 to 1823, William Stead, carver and monumental mason, was the occupant. (3)

Sources
List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest DOE (HHR) City of York N Yorks June 1983 p. 212
2 Ordnance Survey Map 1:2500, 1962
3 List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest City of York, 24/06/1983, amendedment

613515 Architectural Survey Investigation by RCHME/EH Architectural Survey

BF060818 68 MICKLEGATE, YORK File of material relating to a site or building. This material has not yet been fully catalogued

NMR, NMR data (Unassigned). SYO2214.

RCHME, 1972, RCHME City of York Volume III South-west of the Ouse (Monograph). SYO64.