Fairfax House - Castlegate

Classic Georgian townhouse in York. The interior has been superbly restored to period grandeur & is open to visitors all year round. Private group tours, shop.

from: £4.50 Admission per person

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Information

Fairfax House is situated in the heart of York City and provides an interesting and educational day out for visitors. This stunning 18th Century Georgian Townhouse is one of the finest examples in England and is brimming with unique furniture, decorative flourishes and artistic treasures. Come and visit the impressive Fairfax House, a home built as a dowry for Anne Fairfax, daughter of Lord Fairfax of Gilling Castle in the hear of York.

Fairfax House was created in 1762 as a dowry for Anne Fairfax, the only surviving child of Viscount Fairfax and the family turned to York’s most distinguished architect, John Carr, to design the interior. Restored by York Civic Trust in 1982-84 as a home for the famous Noel Terry Collection of English Furniture and Clocks, the result is, as Sir Simon Jenkins noted in his best-selling book England’s Thousand Best Houses (2003), 'the most perfect eighteenth century townhouse I have come across anywhere in England'.

Unique Features

Fairfax House is the finest Georgian Townhouse in England and makes a great day out for those interested in art and architecture. The Great Staircase is a positive tour de force with its exquisite Venetian Window, wrought iron and decorative plasterwork. Other rooms are of a similar high standard and the quality is complemented throughout by the contents, not least by Noel Terry’s furniture and clocks, a collection with very few equals. The result is a triumphant blend of connoisseurship and conservation, and something to be savoured by any enthusiast of our heritage.

Specialities

The Fairfax House Museum Shop is open to the public during normal visiting times. You can purchase gifts without looking around the House. The shop sells antiques, our own published books, souvenirs and postcards and also a good selection of inexpensive and interesting giftware.