Restoring a medieval treasure

08 February 2019

The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is one of York’s medieval treasures and now operates as a museum and venue for special events.

Merchant Adventurers Hall

The Hall’s historic silverware, furniture and other precious contents were largely undamaged, thanks to the vigilance of its custodian who had already moved these irreplaceable objects to safety. However, the Hall’s undercroft, chapel and other ground floor areas sustained considerable damage, with brick flooring, Tudor fireplaces and the chapel’s timber panelling among the areas affected. 
 
Our loss adjuster visited the site immediately, quickly followed by our specialist claims consultant, and a substantial emergency payment was made so that work could start immediately. A network of experts was rallied and temporary works agreed so that the Hall could reopen as quickly as possible. 
 
Remarkably, the Hall reopened for the JORVIK Viking Festival in February 2016, albeit with much more still to be done. With final renovations being undertaken in 2017, and a new visitor entrance installed, this magnificent old building can continue to provide a place for people to socialise. 
 
“The severe flooding of our ancient Hall was a huge shock which gave rise to grave concerns over the restoration of this internationally important building.
The immediate response from Ecclesiastical and its loss adjuster, together with the resilience built in by the medieval builders, enabled the Hall to reopen to visitors within an amazingly short time frame.

Captain Stephen Upright RN, The Clerk to the company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York R

Once repairs are complete the Hall will be fully restored to its pre-flood splendour and this could, quite simply, never have been achieved without the unstinting support they provided so readily.” 

Watch our case study video

We were extremely proud to be involved in the restoration of Merchant Adventurers' Hall, you can watch the full video below to see the stunning result.