13/08/2010

This year, over a thousand visitors have walked through the famous Georgian doors of York's Mansion House, setting a new all-time record.

So far, 1,100 people have already taken a tour of the historic house, showing a significant increase in footfall in comparison to previous years.

Last year's figures showed that a total of 1,097 people - for the whole year - visited the home of the Lord Mayor of York.

Visitors can take part in the tours every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from March to Christmas at 11am, 12.30noon and 2pm, which are free to York residents and the children under 16 years of age.

During the tours, visitors will get the chance to discover all sorts of hidden secrets, including the secret drawers in the bureau, to where the chamber pot was kept and also have the chance to see the magnificent stateroom, which is used for civic events.

Visitors can also see a medieval Sigismund Sword, which belonged to Sigismund, holy Roman Emperor, King of hungry and Duke of Luxemburg.

Richard Pollitt, Mansion House and Guildhall manager at City of York Council, said: "We've had lots of events this year, such as the Easter egg hunt, which have helped to increase the number of visitors and tours per day. So, it's fantastic news that we've already beaten last year's record - and its only August. We're hoping that by the end of the year we'll meet our 2,000-visitor target, and then that will be something to really celebrate."

 

(ENDS)