The Black Swan and Railings to Front is a Grade II listed building in the North York Moors National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 4 January 1955. Hotel. 14 related planning applications.

The Black Swan and Railings to Front

WRENN ID
other-step-jet
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
North York Moors National Park
Constituency
Thirsk and Malton MP: Kevin Hollinrake (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
4 January 1955
Type
Hotel
Address
The Black Swan and Railings to Front, Market Place, Helmsley, North Yorkshire
OS grid reference
SE 612 838
Coordinates
54.24678, -1.06161
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Black Swan is a hotel that consists of three houses, dating from the late 16th century, early 18th century, and early 19th century, with a 20th-century addition at the rear. The 16th-century section features a timber frame that is underbuilt with sandstone rubble, topped with a fish-scale tile roof and stone and brick stacks. The 18th-century section is made of hammered coursed sandstone with a Welsh slate roof and a 20th-century stone stack. The 19th-century section is constructed from rusticated sandstone ashlar and also has a Welsh slate roof with 20th-century stone stacks.

The layout includes the 16th-century range on the left, the 19th-century section in the center, and the 18th-century section on the right. The 16th-century range has an L-shaped hearth-passage hall plan, is two storeys high, and features two and a half bays of frame with a cross wing of three and a half bays. There is a 20th-century door to the passage at the right end and two casement windows to the left, with herringbone bracing visible on the first floor. The cross wing's gable has curved braces that form concave-sided lozenges, and the steeply pitched roof has ridge stacks at the cross wing and the right end of the hall.

The 19th-century section is two storeys high with three bays and lacks a doorway in the front facade. It has sash windows with glazing bars throughout, gable coping, and end stacks. The 18th-century section rises to three storeys, with the second floor being an addition, and features four bays. The entrance has a six-fielded-panel door beneath a blocked fanlight, flanked by engaged Tuscan columns that support an open pediment. There is one 20th-century canted bay window to the left and two to the right, along with 20th-century three-light casements on the first and second floors. The first floor has stone sills and wedge lintels, while the second floor has oblong lintels. A painted wooden model of a black swan is mounted on a decorated wrought-iron bracket between the first and second floors, and the eaves are stepped with a hipped roof and a ridge stack to the right.

Inside, the 16th-century hall contains a massive chamfered bressumer with shaped ends, supported by two chamfered posts with shaped brackets. The property is enclosed by plain wrought-iron railings at the front. The 16th-century range is also known as 'The Old Rectory', while the 20th-century cross wing at the rear is not of special interest.

Local climate

The Black Swan and Railings to Front receives an average of 760 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 65% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 79% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 41 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 23 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 — 2 transactions since 2020
  • Related listed building consents — 14 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
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