York Residents Festival - Jacob's Well by fishers

York Residents Festival - Jacob's Well

The building known as Jacob's Well was a fascinating find on our tour of some of York's historical buildings and museums during the Resident's Festival. It is a place that neither Katharine or I had visited before.

It dates back to around 1474, when it was built at the edge of the precinct of Holy Trinity Priory, and housed a priest who was paid to pray three times a week for the family of the man who had paid for the building.

With the suppression of monasteries and priories in the 1530s, the house was sold. It passed through numerous hands, predominantly people with church connections, until by 1749 it became licensed premises.

By 1902 it had become parish rooms for the neighbouring church. A major renovation followed in 1905. By 1990 further work was required, and part of the building was demolished and replaced with reconstruction more in keeping with it's earlier history. Modern facilities (kitchen and toilets) were also included in the work.

The building is now rented out to various organisations, and is open to the public for refreshments one morning a week.

The gentleman in this shot is reading a rather longer version of the history of the building.

The origin of the name 'Jacob's Well' is unknown.

Ian
What an iteresting old building - thank you for taking the time to share a little of its history with us.
January 30th, 2014  
Love the beams.
January 30th, 2014  
amazing history. Beautifully captured. The beams just grab your attention :)
January 30th, 2014  
Like others, I too was drawn to the strong rich colour of the beams, then my eye was drawn into the room. Lovely pov and detail.
January 30th, 2014  
beautiful patterns! beams and floor balance one another. lovely capture.
January 30th, 2014  
lovely shot, and very interesting story to accompany it!
January 30th, 2014  
Great history and awesome capture. The flooring really caught my eye. Guess I didn't expect a patterned floor with the ruggedness of the structure.
January 30th, 2014  
Beautiful view and capture of this wonderful room. Thanks for the interesting info
January 30th, 2014  
Interesting history here. love the old beams.the only thing out of place is the floor. would look a lot better if it were a wooden floor.
January 30th, 2014  
Bob
Interesting history for this structure. Apparently this building, if I am looking at the correct location, was once used as a pub years ago according to a reference found in Google. Perhaps the name is attached to the pub. Cool find.
January 30th, 2014  
Thank you for the interesting historical account and photo.
January 31st, 2014  
Fascinating building
January 31st, 2014  
Nice shot and interesting to read about the building
January 31st, 2014  
@vignouse

Thank you Richard - I find it fascinating discovering more about the things and places that I see, so most photo sessions are followed by an investigation session!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@padlock

Thank you Padlock, it is a fascinating structure, and much more impressive on the inside than the outside!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@silverhorn

Thank you Rose - the interior of this lovely building was quite fascinating!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@dide

Thank you Dianne - it was a fascinating building to explore and photograph!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@hshdebbie

Thank you Debbie - it was one of those buildings that called for lots of photos to be taken!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@monkeykid

Thank you Therese - glad you enjoyed the history lesson! I found it fascinating to discover more about this lovely place!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@zenna

Thank you Gayanne - this building has been changed many times over it's history, and I assume that this floor is probably a later addition from one of the periods of redevelopment and modernisation.

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@pyrrhula

Thank you Ferry - it was a fascinating place to visit and learn about!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@bruni

Thank you Bruni - there were a number of items of different ages in the building - for example, the window washed out in this shot was not installed until 1905. This type of tile floor was popular at that time, so it may well have been put in then, but I've no firm evidence to support that suggestion.

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@bobhuegel

Thank you Bob - yes, you've found the right place, it had a long period of use as a pub, until around 1903. If you want to know more of the history of the building, I took photos of the notes on the table in this shot, and I've since transcribed them. I could send you a copy if you let me have your email address.

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@karenmatthews

Thank you Karen - it was a fascinating place to explore. It's amazing that there are such attractive places so close to where I live that I haven't visited before!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@jrstanier

Thank you John, glad you like it!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
@pjr

Thank you Pete, it was a fascinating place to explore and learn about!

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
Bob
@fishers Ian, this sounds cool. I'm at bobhuegel@gmail.com Thanks.
January 31st, 2014  
@bobhuegel

I'll send the info shortly

Ian
January 31st, 2014  
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