[1] King Richard III was entertained in the building in 1483,[2] and the Guildhall was the venue for the trial of St Margaret Clitherow, a Catholic martyr, in 1586.

[8] The interior of the original building, including the stained glass window, was destroyed during a Baedeker raid in 1942.

[3] After the war the Guildhall was rebuilt and a new stained glass window, depicting five aspects of the city's history (architecture, war, civic affairs, commercial trade and religious education), was designed and installed by Harry Harvey of York.

[10] Throughout the 20th century meetings of the City of York Council were held in the Guildhall;[11] however, in Autumn 2017, when a programme of restoration work began at the Guildhall, temporary arrangements were put in place for the council to meet in the former Salvation Army Citadel on Gillygate.

[12] The renovation, which cost £21 million and was carried out to remedy serious structural issues, was completed in 2022 and the building was subsequently leased to the University of York, as a centre for start up businesses.