by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:7th April 2026
An elegant house captured in time
During our delightful stay in the Minster city of York, North Yorkshire, we visited the beautiful Treasurer’s House in Minster Yard, in the beating heart of the historic city.
Treasurer’s House and its gorgeous gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust, and National Trust members can visit for free. While Treasurer’s House is in the midst of the old town, this peaceful oasis is a tranquil place to visit.
Ensure you make the most of your National Trust membership while in Yorkshire and visit the incredible ruins of the Carthusian Mount Grace Priory, House and Gardens in Staddle Bridge.
So, let’s grab our National Trust cards and explore Treasurer’s House.
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Where is Treasurer’s House?
How to get to Treasurer’s House
- By Train
York’s central station is easily accessible from many UK cities.
- By Coach
You can travel to York via National Express coaches, which offers a direct service from London and other UK locations.
- By Car
The main motorway routes to York are from the M1/M62. York is around 4 hours from London and Edinburgh. Six Park & Ride sites currently operate in York.
- By Air
The closest airport to York is Leeds/Bradford. Catch the 757 bus to Leeds train station, then a train to York.
A brief history of Treasurer’s House
Evolving through the centuriesThe Treasurer’s House is one of York’s most historic and fascinating buildings, tucked just behind York Minster. The site has been significant since at least the 12th century; York Minster’s first treasurer was appointed in 1091 to manage the cathedral’s finances, and a residence for the treasurer stood there to reflect the importance of the role.
Fireplace in the Drawing Room
Little of the original medieval structure survives, but the Treasurer’s House that stands today incorporates sections of early masonry and was substantially rebuilt from the late 1500s onward, notably by the Young family and later enhanced with a symmetrical classical frontage in the early 17th century. Over the subsequent centuries, the house passed through several private owners and was even subdivided into tenements as its fortunes declined.
Ornate interiors
Bracket Clock
In 1897, Treasurer’s House was transformed by Frank Green, a wealthy Yorkshire industrialist with a passion for antiques and historic interiors. Green reunited the fragmented buildings, employed English architect Temple Moore to remodel the house, and created an exuberant showpiece of period rooms filled with his own collection of furniture, art and decorative objects.
‘A Dutch Kitchen Scene’ by Joachim Beuckelaer
Frank Green entertained notable guests at Treasurer’s House, including the future King Edward VII, and, upon his retirement in 1930, he gifted the house and its original furnishings to the National Trust. Today, Treasurer’s House is a Grade I listed historic house museum, open to the public by guided tour, and is celebrated both for its rich architectural evolution and its evocative interiors that span centuries of York’s social history.
Ensure you book a tour of Treasurer’s House; you may even catch a glimpse of one of the ghostly apparitions that haunt Treasurer’s House.
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Frank Green, the man behind the legacy
The industrialist and philanthropistFrank Green, born in 1861, was a wealthy Yorkshire industrialist and philanthropist. Having inherited a successful railway engineering fortune, Green devoted much of his life to collecting fine furniture, art and historic interiors, transforming the Treasurer’s House into an elegant showcase of 17th and 18th -century design.
Francis ‘Frank’ William Green
Mr Green was a passionate conservationist, and when he donated the house and its amazing interiors to the National Trust, it became the Trust’s first property with a significant collection of furniture and art. His legacy remains an important part of York’s heritage, and the house stands as a testament to his vision and generosity.
Flemish wall tapestry
When Frank Green gave the house to the Trust, it was under strict instructions that the rooms would be kept exactly as he intended. He even made markings on the wooden floors where the furniture was to be placed, and if any changes were made, he vowed to return to haunt the building.
Workmen for Frank Green were even asked to wear slippers to keep the noise down.
Places to visit in North Yorkshire
During our one-week EV road trip around North Yorkshire, we visited some beautiful places. They included the incredibly historic towns and cities of York, Whitby, Ripon and Harrogate. We also detoured north of Whitby to visit the quaint hillside port village of Staithes and the nostalgic seaside town of Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Inside Treasurer’s House in York
Discover the imposing Grand HallStepping inside Treasurer’s House in York feels less like entering a museum and more like walking into an elegant private home frozen in time. Frank Green’s vision was to create a series of atmospheric interiors reflecting different historic periods, and that sense of layered history is still very much intact.
Blue Drawing Room
The Blue Drawing Room echoes this foresight and is a stunning early 20th-century reception space showcasing refined Georgian-style décor, rich blue silk wall coverings, and fine antique furnishings intended for entertaining distinguished guests.
Frank Green had the pleasure of entertaining Royalty at the house, including Prince Albert Edward, Princess Alexandra of Denmark and Princess Victoria.
Model of 132-gun ship
The house was further restored by the National Trust in the early 20th century and has been transformed it into a grand Edwardian townhouse, wood-panelled rooms are filled with antiques and carefully curated furnishings.
Within the Treasurer’s House, you’ll also spot an intricate model of a 132-gun ship, displayed in the Court Room. This three-decked battleship is believed to have been made by French prisoners at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, and believed to be made from a mixture of bone and whalebone.
Medieval touches in Treasurer’s House
The Great Hall is one of the most impressive spaces in the Treasurer’s House, with eye-catching timber-framing high above and a dark wood winding staircase. Also within the Great Hall is a long refectory table, striking, majestic portraits, and softly filtered light, creating a distinctly medieval feel.
The Great Hall
Intricate windows in Great Hall
As you stroll further through the grand house with your informative tour guide, you’ll enter the Jacobean-style dining room and the richly decorated drawing rooms, which showcase carved fireplaces, tapestries and ornate plasterwork. The rooms are intimate rather than palatial, giving the house a warm, lived-in atmosphere rather than the formality of a stately home.
Upstairs in Treasurer’s House
Refinement and styleWe continue our tour and wend our way upstairs, where the bedrooms reveal another side of the property and offer a fascinating glimpse into early 20th-century Edwardian life.
The Queens Room bed
Fine detail in the Queens Room
The bedrooms of Treasurer’s House are beautifully preserved as they were when Frank Green restored the house. Each room is elegantly furnished with period pieces, fine textiles, and personal touches that reflect Green’s vision of a refined historic home rather than a museum.
There’s a quiet elegance here, polished wood, patterned carpets and carefully arranged objets d’art, all reflecting Frank Green’s passion for craftsmanship and heritage.
State bed & Queen Anne bedcover
From the grand principal bedroom to the more modest guest rooms, the spaces feel intimate and lived-in, with original fireplaces, antique furniture, and views across York Minster or the peaceful garden. They help tell the story of how the house functioned as a private residence in the early 1900s, blending comfort with a deep appreciation for history.
Escape for a few days
Are you in search of a tranquil hideaway to relax and unwind in, while you discover the beautiful British countryside?
Browse through the handpicked properties and unique retreats at Holiday Cottages.
Ghostly goings-on
The most haunted house in YorkTreasurer’s House in York is famed for one of the city’s most chilling ghost sightings; in 1953, a plumber reportedly saw a procession of Roman soldiers marching through the cellar, their feet mysteriously below floor level, as though walking on an ancient road beneath the building.
The house is also said to be haunted by a melancholy woman in white and other shadowy figures, adding to York’s long reputation as one of England’s most haunted historic cities.
The dappled gardens of Treasurer’s House
There have been many spooky sightings at Treasurer’s House over the years, and one often mentioned is that of a cat in the basement where the café now is. This is the most common unexplained vision in the house. Apparently, the cat looks incredibly real, so much so that some visitors have commented that a cat should not be in the café due to hygiene.
The café doesn't have a cat.
The Treasurer's House was visited in the first episode of the Discovery Channel television series Ghosthunters.
If, like us, you enjoy visiting the National Trust gardens around the United Kingdom, then grab yourself a copy of the latest ‘Gardens of the National Trust’.
It’s a beautifully illustrated book, and it won’t be long before you’re planning your next trip.
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