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History

The location of this fine Grade II* Listed mansion is on the line of the main Roman approach to the city of York and Bootham Bar was one of the original Roman gateways into the city/fortress of Eboracum.

The house is of circa 1827 and appears on Robert Cooper’s plan of York 1832. The owner at that time being Mrs Barbara Ashton Nelson and the property is described as a ‘mansion and pleasure grounds’ in the first rate assessment in 1837.

The house passed between various private owners until 1875 when it was run as a ‘school for young ladies’ until 1879 by Misses Inchbold and it was known as Bootham House.

In 1882 the property was sold to Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary for the War Department. By 1886 Pigot’s directory shows that the neighbouring Grosvenor Terrace had been formed and that Major General F.A. Willis C.B. was in occupation of the house. By 1892 the building was described as Government House and was occupied by Major General Charles Frederick T. Daniel C.B. One of many distinguished visitors was the Prince of Wales who stayed as a guest in July 1898 whilst visiting one of the many fayres held in the city of York.

The property remained in Government hands passing through various departments including the Command Pay Office, the Health Authority and Customs & Excise until in 1984 it was closed down. In the spring of 1985 the new owners purchased the property and undertook extensive alterations and repairs to the building restoring it to it’s former glory. Initially The Churchill opened as a fourteen bedroom hotel then in 2006 a new chapter in the house’s history began with the complete refurbishment of the original building and a sympathetic extension being added resulting in a 32 bedroom luxury hotel and fine dining restaurant. Over the last few years we’ve been busy with further refurbishments including adding a further five rooms with further improvements planned for the future.