York House

York House, Malton

House, now offices and domestic accommodation, dating from around 1684, with substantial rebuilding and extension of the centre of the garden front in the early 18th century. It was probably built for Sir William Strickland on his marriage to Elizabeth Palmes.

The building is constructed partly from coursed squared stone and partly hammer-dressed stone, with ashlar dressings. The roof is stone slate with coped gables and shaped kneelers, and stone stacks, one of which has been rebuilt.

The house follows a stairhall and crosswing plan. The entrance front presents two storeys and an attic, with a two-window centre range flanked by two-window gabled crosswings. A chamfered plinth and irregular quoins define the base. The central doorway is of eight raised-and-fielded panels in an eared and keyed architrave, and stands between tall 18-pane sashes. The first floor has two similar windows above. The crosswing windows are sashes: 12 panes to the left and 18 panes to the right. The attic windows are squat 12-pane sashes. All windows have architraves and stone sills, with a sillband running across the ground floor. A coved eaves course and moulded timber eaves cornice span the centre range and crosswing returns. A gabled dormer with a 12-pane window has been inserted into the attic of the centre range. A crenellated lead rainwater head and drainpipe ornament the left crosswing return.

The garden front features a two-storey three-bay centre range, flanked by two-storey-and-attic gabled crosswings. The centre range, with raised chamfered quoins, is treated as a giant arch within a rusticated quoined surround with a keyblock, and contains tall 12-pane sashes on each floor. A radial-glazed staircase sash sits in a keyed round-arched architrave with moulded imposts recessed beneath the arch. An eight-panel door in a keyed architrave is located in the left return. A moulded projecting eaves cornice crowns the elevation. The left crosswing has raised chamfered quoins, whilst the right has flush quoins. Windows are 12-pane sashes in keyed architraves with stone sills.

Internally, the entrance hall retains an early 18th-century stone paved floor. To the rear stands an arcaded staircase screen with keyed arches on square columns, encased in raised-and-fielded panelling. The open-well staircase features close-string stairs with turned vertically symmetrical balusters with square knops, a moulded handrail, and square newels with shallow pyramidal caps. Beneath the stairs, early 19th-century half-glazed double doors with fluted panels and paterae lead to the rear entrance lobby.

In the right crosswing, a dogleg secondary staircase has a moulded handrail with the balustrade boxed-in, possibly concealing original balusters. At the foot of these stairs on the ground floor stands a pierced plank cupboard with butterfly hinges. A door to the front room has three raised-and-fielded panels. On the first floor, the rear room is panelled with three-panel entrance and closet doors, the latter hung on HL hinges, and features panelled shutters. A bolection-moulded stone fireplace with a panelled overmantle survives, together with all raised-and-fielded panelling, a moulded dado rail and cornice. The front room has a plain stone fire surround with a pulvinated frieze and moulded cornice shelf, and a three-panel closet door on HL hinges. The final flight of stairs to the second floor is close-string with column-on-vase balusters, a moulded handrail, and square newels. Doors on the second floor landing are two-panel raised-and-fielded doors on HL hinges. The left crosswing was not inspected.

The listing also includes gate piers and railings.