Merchant Adventurer's Hall

This is the Great Hall of the Merchant Adventurers in York. It was built between 1357-61 and was the main room where the business and social activities of the Guild took place. A hospital was built in the undercroft so the Guild could fulfil it's charitable function, and also a chapel which addressed it's religious committments. The Guild controlled the export and import of many items into the city, notably wool. They were a powerful presence in the commercial life of York and their permission was needed to open a shop in York into the nineteenth century.