Treasurer's House, York: History of one of the most 'haunted' buildings in Yorkshire and where Death Comes to Pemberley was filmed

The Treasurer’s House is a Grade I listed historic building located in Minster Yard, north of York Minster, and also has a garden.

The garden provides views of York Minster where visitors can find sanctuary with easy access to its cafe for food and drink.

Frank Green, one of the previous owners of Treasurer’s House, donated it to the National Trust in 1930 and it was the first to be gifted to the charity along with its collection.

History of Treasurer’s House

While the current building dates back to the 19th century, the first Treasurer for York Minster was appointed in 1091 and his office was established by Archbishop of York Thomas of Bayeux.

The last remaining parts of the original Treasurer’s House on the site are sections of 12th century masonry and an external wall that forms part of Grays Court.

The residence served in this capacity until 1547, when the Reformation of the English Church ended the job of Treasurer. The descendants of Thomas Young, the Archbishop between 1561 and 1568, are responsible for the structure of the present-day house.

The house was passed through various private owners including Lord Fairfax before it was bought by a rich industrialist from Wakefield, Frank Green, in 1897, who had quickly transformed the building into what it is today - an elaborately decorated townhouse.

Mr Green was a passionate collector of historic artefacts and items who renovated the building to showcase his collection.

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He had a few conditions when he gave the house to the National Trust; the rooms would be kept exactly as he left them and if any changes were made, he promised to return to haunt the building, according to the Trust’s website.

In the present day, if any items in the house have been moved or changed for conservation reasons, some of the hauntings are thought to be an angry Frank Green.

He appointed Temple Moore to restore the house and remove numerous early features and the work was almost complete by 1900 before Prince Albert Edward, Princess Alexandra of Denmark and Princess Victoria visited in June that same year.

Several ghosts reportedly haunt the building, including George Aislaby, a previous owner of the property in the 17th century. The most outstanding haunting is of a group of Roman soldiers, who have been spotted in the cellar, firstly by a party guest of Frank Green and then many years later during the restoration by National Trust.

There have also been sightings of a ghost cat in the cafe, mysterious occurrences where clocks would stop at the same time and chairs moving, a dog running in the Blue Drawing Room, two children in the Great Hall and another popular haunting is of a lady spotted on many chairs around the house, known as ‘the grey lady’.

Due to its haunted background, the house was visited in the first episode of the Discovery Channel TV show Ghosthunters and it has been used to film the BBC One drama Death Comes to Pemberley.