The Judges Lodgings Hotel is a magnificent Grade 1-listed townhouse, erected in the eighteenth century, during the Queen Anne/George I period. However, that is not the beginning of the story - there is evidence of human activity on this site going as far back as Roman times. During excavations carried out in the early 1980s, a 3 metre by 2 metre area of floor in the mid 18th century cellar beneath the house was removed. Measurements had shown that the area lay within the rear chamber of the late Roman interval tower, one of six along the south-west façade of the Roman fortress. Excavations revealed that the cellar builders had dug out any remaining late Roman levels, although part of an early Roman building was found represented entirely by its foundations of cobbles and clay, lying on a similar alignment to the fortress itself.

Before the Judges' Lodgings was built, this area of land was the property of St. Wilfrids Church, first mentioned in a charter dated between 1145 and 1148. At the end of the 12th century, the Church became part of St. Mary’s Abbey, to which it belonged until the dissolution. During the 16th century the church and churchyard were sold. Records show that Richard Goldthorpe bought the site for £2 on June 16th 1554. Although the church building had gone and the Parish united, the civil parish remained. Boundary markers from St Wilfred’s Church remain, one appearing on 23 Lendal and one on the north corner of the Judges' Lodging itself. During the 16th century this area was built over. The earliest York map, circa 1545, shows Lendal and little of Blake Street. Speed’s map of 1610 shows houses built all along Lendal with gardens to the rear. The same arrangement is also shown on Richard’s map of 1683.

The building that is now known as the Judges' Lodgings was built between 1711 and 1726 as a private residence for Dr. Wintringham (1689-1747/8), a medical practitioner who was appointed Physician at York County Hospital in 1745/6. While the architect is not known, it has been suggested that it was Richard Boyle who designed and built the Assembly Rooms in 1730 and the Mansion House between 1725 and 1730 (both beautiful buildings a stone’s throw from the Hotel). The building was illustrated and mentioned on Cossins’ map (1726) and Drake (1736), describes it as ‘one of the best houses built in the city’.

The Greek God of Healing, AESCULAPIUS which you can see over the main door of the building represents the Wintringham family’s dedication to human health. Dr Wintringham was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and admitted extra-licentiate of the College of Physicians on the 3rd July 1711. He practised in York for over 35 years, was the author of a number of books and attended the Earl of Carlisle at nearby Castle Howard.  He was married twice: by his first wife Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Nettleton of Earls Heath, Yorkshire, he had a son, Clifton Wintringham (1720-1794) who himself had a distinguished medical career, becoming joint military physician to the forces in 1756, Physician general to the forces in 1786 and Physician to George III in 1792. It was in February of that year that he was knighted. There is now a monument in his memory at Westminster Abbey in London. Dr Wintringham is buried in St. Michael-le-Belfrey Church, opposite York Minster. After his death, the building was bought by a Dr. Dealtry to whom an elegant monument was erected in York Minster.

The wing to the South-East of the building was built in three stages. In the 18th century, the first two storeys were constructed, in 1806 a further extension was erected and in the mid 19th century, a third storey was added. The outside front stairs are 19th century, originally there was only a single flight to the front door.

A few of the notable internal architectural features include the sweeping original Georgian oak staircase (the only one of its kind in the United Kingdom). There are a number of wooden panelled rooms with original shutters. The fireplaces on the first and second floors are all 19th century. In the dining room, hidden behind a secret panel, concealed by a window shutter, is a chamber pot, which was for the use of the Judges and other Gentlemen diners. It is now kept securely concealed.

In 1806 the building was bought (using county rates) as the official Judges' residence in York, for use when they were attending the quarterly sessions at the Assize Courts at York Castle. It was given five commissioners, picked from Justices of the Peace for the Three Ridings and a Mr and Mrs Kilvington were appointed to keep house, for which they received a salary from the county.

The rooms on the top floor of this building were allocated to the Judge's own staff and the rooms in the wing were kept for resident housekeepers. Rooms 1 and 3 were reserved for the Judges and were the only ones to have private bathrooms.

When the Judges were in residence, on the first morning of their stay they were invited by the Lord Mayor of York for an official breakfast at the Mansion House in St Helen's Square, to which they would process the hundred or so metres down the street in formal dress. It remained the official Judges' residence until 1976.

In 1979, the building was purchased by a French couple who transformed it into a hotel. Since then it has had the pleasure of welcoming over one hundred thousand guests.

In March 2007 the Hotel was closed to under go a multi-million pound renovation. In an ambitious two-year programme, this magnificent building has been sympathetically restored to its former glory, while being upgraded to provide luxurious and distinctive hotel accommodation.