Former mortuary at New York, Summerbridge

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Small, single celled building with an ornate entrance elevation. Thought to have been built after 1838 as a mortuary for a worker's mutual society serving the mill workers of New York flax mill and others of the local community. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1421796
Date first listed:: 09-Feb-2015
List Entry Name:: Former mortuary at New York, Summerbridge

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1421796
Date first listed:: 09-Feb-2015
List Entry Name:: Former mortuary at New York, Summerbridge
Location Description:: Sited at SE1965462918 on the east side of Riggs Spring adjacent to the junction with the B6165.

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: North Yorkshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Hartwith cum Winsley
National Grid Reference:: SE1965562918

Summary

Reasons for Designation

* Architecture: particularly for its western elevation featuring an unusually designed pediment and high quality stonework; * Social history: as a structure built for a workers' mutual benefit society.

History

Francis Thorpe, the owner of New York flax mill, developed a welfare system for his workers: financially supporting a scheme providing free medical treatment; running a clothing club (buying clothing and other textiles at wholesale prices and selling them on to his staff at cost price); and paying school fees of children who worked part time at the mill. In New York there were also two mutual benefit societies which Thorpe is thought to have helped to establish (although they were open to the whole community and were not funded by his firm). These societies were a Cow Club and the Burial Club. The latter, established in 1838, provided a death benefit of £5 to its members whose 480 members were aged between one and forty-five years, paying an average annual contribution of 1 shilling 3.5 pence. The building is thought to be a mortuary, paid for by the club to provide a place to store the recently deceased prior to burial. It is not known when this use ceased, but it may have become disused after 1883 when New York Mill closed.

Details

Mortuary, mid-C19 for the New York Burial Club.

MATERIALS: pecked-tooled sandstone ashlar.

PLAN: small, single celled building that is built into a bank. EXTERIOR: only the western elevation is fully exposed, the remaining sides being mainly subterranean. The west elevation is architecturally treated with an ornate triangular pediment which is embellished with a central roundel framing a quatrefoil opening. Projecting from the upper face of the pediment are six evenly spaced blocks (three to each side) which give the appearance of being merlons of a gabled, crenulated parapet, the upper surfaces of the merlons being parallel to the upper face of the pediment. Centrally placed below the pediment is the building's only doorway. This has finely tooled and rebated monolithic lintel and jambs, but has lost its door. The building's remaining three sides are mainly buried beneath the ground surface, with a single, small window opening at eaves level on both sides (that to the north now buried) and a plain coped gable end to the east. The roof is of modern softwood boards covered in roofing felt. INTERIOR: the walls are plastered and lime-washed except for some scaring at the eastern end marking the position of a former bench or coffin rest. There is a small rectangular alcove or cupboard placed roughly centrally to each of the three walls not containing the doorway. There is no ceiling, but it is not clear if this has been lost or if the interior was always open to the roof.

Sources

Books and journals
Jennings, B, A History of Nidderdale, (1983), 243-250

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

The listed building is shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.