Grays Court, York

Dating back in part to 1080 and commissioned by the first Norman Archbishop of York to provide the official residence for the Treasurers of York Minster, it is one of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in the United Kingdom.

The house was surrendered to the Crown on 26 May 1547 and William Cliffe, the last of the medieval Treasurers, was made dean of Chester.

The marble plaque on the fireplace is of Augusta, wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III.

Life at the house was recorded by Faith Gray who was a keen diarist but she also worked, with Catharine Cappe et al, to establish a school for poor girls.

She helped transform the Grey (now Blue) Coat School and she started a Friendly Society.