Grays Court: The tumultuous tale behind award-winning Yorkshire hotel where success came at a price for its owner

Heraty, along her with architect partner John Edwards, bought Grays Court from the College of Ripon and St John in 2005 with the plan of creating an exclusive bed and breakfast.

“We couldn’t believe it. John went to look round it for a client and we thought this is it,” recalls Heraty. “It was in need of a complete renovation and rewiring but the location and the potential was clear to see. We just fell in love and could see ourselves living in it as we got older.”

Heraty was no stranger to property development and running B&Bs and had built up a decent property portfolio, including running her own B&B in Green Hammerton.

She and Edwards combined their finances and bought the Grade I-listed building which borders York’s historic city walls. And so Edwards, who had a child from a previous marriage, and a pregnant Heraty and six children from a previous relationship moved into the 70-plus room building.

“The only habitable place was the caretaker’s flat which we all lived in while we went about trying to get the funding together to start the major renovations,” says Heraty. “The children used to camp out in one of the rooms, make a mess and then move onto the next one. We wanted to put everything back to the way it should be.”

The house was built towards the end of the 11th century, by Thomas of Bayeux’s Treasurer . The treasurer acted as guest master for visiting dignitaries; three treasurers went on to be Royal Chancellors and a further two Archbishops of York. Grays Court is the oldest inhabited house in York and has witnessed political favours courted by mediaeval Minster treasurers and three royal visits. The house in Minster Yard became “Grays Court” when William and Faith Gray moved in in 1788.

It was therefore, with the weight of history and the eyes of York on them, that Heraty and Edwards took on the daunting task of turning their dream into a reality.

Much of what happened over the next five years was the subject of a BBC documentary called Folie à Deux: Madness Made of Two. It was filmed over five years and followed the family dream of transforming the crumbling monument into an exclusive historic hotel.

Unfortunately, with a huge bank loan in place, the credit crunch hit and the dream became a living nightmare, fuelled by a battle with their neighbours.

The film was born in late 2007, with a chance meeting in a York pub, and culminated five years later in selection for the 25th anniversary International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam, the Cannes of the documentary world.

There, it was picked up by Storyville, the BBC’s pre-eminent documentary strand, as well as other A-list film festivals.

Yorkshire-born writer Simon Beaufoy, an Oscar winner for Slumdog Millionaire, watched the film, loved it (“it’s a stunning commentary on the mess we’re in – really powerful)” and became an executive producer.

“I do cringe when I watch it now,” admits Heraty. “At the time we thought it was just going to be a short piece and we thought there’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

The documentary focuses on the banks refusing to lend them the money they need to complete the refurbishment when the recession hit.

But worse was still to come. Constant battles with York Council planners, who said they did not have the relevant planning permission to operate as a hotel, put untold strain on Edwards, says Heraty, culminating in her partner collapsing and dying in front of her.

It turned out they did have the correct permission and the family was allowed to continue. But Edwards had died intestate and the banks once again threatened Heraty with foreclosure.

“When John died, we’d just opened our first bedroom. The banks said the loan was in our joint names and threatened to pull the funding,” says Heraty. “But I was in too deep to pull out. What choice did I have but to continue? I had to put a roof over my children’s heads if nothing else.”

Heraty does admit, however, that Grays Court has become far more than just a business for her, saying: “It does get under your skin.”

Whenever she made any money, it would go back into renovating and opening another bedroom. By 2015, nine rooms had been opened and Grays Court was starting to make a name for itself. In 2020 all Heraty’s hard work paid off when Grays Court was named Small Hotel of the Year by VisitBritain. “I couldn’t believe it,” she says. “We are a little bit like Marmite to some people. We will never be a flash hotel with a spa and a gym – we are what we are and most of our visitors do understand that.” More accolades followed, including being named VisitYork’s best Small Hotel of the Year and Taste Award 2022.

Lockdown also gave her the chance to refurbish some of the rooms, investing another £50,000. Looking back, it is clear Heraty is still upset and angry about how she and Edwards were treated, although she remains calm when talking about it.

“I’m not sure what they thought we were going to do. We live here, for goodness sake. We have spent millions preserving a historic building that the general public now have access to.”

She now realises that being at loggerheads with the planners and their neighbours isn’t good for anyone and has brought in a board of directors, including York Bid’s Sarah Czarnecki “Sarah is so good at promoting Grays Court within York, at getting the message across about what we are actually doing here.”

It will be interesting to see what happens when city planners discuss her proposals to redevelop an old coach house to create seven further bedrooms.

But above all you get the feeling that her main driver is to create a legacy at Grays Court not just for York but for the next generation. Many of her children have flown the nest, although two returned during the pandemic and her daughter Morgan is one of the directors. Her second grandchild is also due soon.

Does she regret taking on such a mammoth task? “Once you’ve started, you can’t go back. Before doing this I was completely independent, I was mortgage-free and utterly self-sufficient. I have put everything into this and I really didn’t have much of a choice after that.”

Having said that, she still chooses to live above the shop, so to speak, which has its pluses and minuses. “I suppose you don’t ever get away from it. But I don’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t here. I just want to have the best hotel and the best restaurant – that has always been my aim.”

www.grayscourtyork.com