Wandesford House

Wandesford Hospital was founded under the terms of Mary Wandesford's will. She bequeathed an estate at Brompton-on-Swale valued at £1,200, together with another £1,200 in South Sea stock in trust "for the use of ten poor gentlewomen who were never married and who shall be of the religion which is taught and practised in the Church of England as by law established, who shall retire from the hurry and noise of the world into a religious house of protestant retirement which shall be provided for them and they shall be obliged to continue there for life...". The wording of this appears to have suggested to the Wandesford family that she intended it as a kind of nunnery for young women, which at…

Following the Court of Chancery decree upholding Mary's will, a parcel of land in Bootham, York, was acquired from William Wilberforce of Hull (1690–1776), grandfather of the anti-slave trade campaigner William Wilberforce, and building began. Wandesford Hospital was designed by Colonel James Moyser, a gentleman architect and an associate of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington. There are two other almshouses by James Moyser, both in Beverley: Ann Routh's Hospital and Tymperon House, which share several architectural features with Wandesford House, notably the giant arches and window style. Ann Routh's also features the same projecting pediment, which contains a cartouche. The builders of…