Lendal Tower is a Grade I listed building in the York local planning authority area, England. First listed on 14 June 1954. A C14 Defensive tower. 4 related planning applications.
Lendal Tower
- WRENN ID
- inner-obsidian-ash
- Grade
- I
- Local Planning Authority
- York
- Constituency
- York Central MP: Rachael Maskell (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 14 June 1954
- Type
- Defensive tower
- Address
- Lendal Tower, Museum Street, YO1 7DT
- OS grid reference
- SE 599 519
- Coordinates
- 53.96026, -1.08718
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
Lendal Tower is a defensive tower dating from around 1300. It was heightened in 1616, strengthened and extended in the 17th century (c1677), and altered for office use in the 19th century (c1846), with further refitting in 1932. The tower is constructed of magnesian limestone, incorporating carved fragments from the ruins of St Mary's Abbey. The roof is reportedly copper, but is not visible. The tower is a three-stage circular structure with an attached circular stair tower, set on a chamfered plinth, and includes a three-storey extension. All parts of the building are embattled. An unused 19th-century doorway with panelled double doors is present in the extension. Blocked slit windows are visible on the ground floor of both towers; other windows are 1- and 2-light, with chamfered mullions and openings. The tower is entered through Lendal Hill House. The interior includes a brick partition wall on the lower storeys, retaining evidence of engine housings, a wooden spiral staircase within the stair tower, and rooms on the first and second floors fitted with panelling. Historically, the tower was leased to the Waterworks Company in 1677 for 500 years in exchange for a symbolic rent, still paid annually.
Local climate
Lendal Tower receives an average of 750 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 69% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 89% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 43 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 81% of listed buildings. Of these, 22 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
- Sale history — 3 transactions since 2006
- Related listed building consents — 4 applications
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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Nearby listed buildings
- Lendal Hill House
- Former Waterworks Engine House at Rear of Lendal Hill House
- River House and Attached Area Walls and Railings
- City Wall from Lendall Hill House to the Lodge, Museum Gardens
- Club Chambers and Railings Attached at Front
- The Lodge and Attached Gates and Gate Piers
- Electricity Sub Station
- 2, Lendal
- 4a and 4b, Lendal
- 8, Lendal