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| The Ark |
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The name, the Ark, is said to derive from the two heads on corbels on the front of the building, commonly known as Noah and his wife, but it was called Morley Hall in the 17th Century.
Harry Speight in his "Lower Wharfedale" records the fact that the Morleys were an ancient North of England family. In 1653, Robert Morley was registered in Tadcaster as one of the early Post Masters and in 1657, was one of the score of "Wharfedale Gentlemen" appointed as an under conservator of the Wharfe. This Robert Morley died in 1680 but in 1672 when Charles II issued his Declaration of Indulgencies, the local justices granted a licence to his son Robert to enable him to hold Presbyterian meetings in Morley Hall. |
The dissenting tradition associated with the Ark goes back further than this because it is believed to have been one of the places in which the Pilgrim Fathers met to plan their voyage to America. The state of Ohio has an exact copy of the Ark, and the last curator, Mrs Betty Brewster, said there have been many Americans calling in over the years who believed it was part of their heritage.
In 1959, the Ark was in danger of demolition when Mr W H D Riley-Smith decided that the town’s oldest house should be preserved for the public. |
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| This project was accomplished in two stages - the solar (the block at right angles to the street) was completed in 1962 and the hall in 1967. Mr Riley-Smith enlisted the help of Dr E A Gee, formerly of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of York, who found the Ark dated back to the last half of the 15th Century. |
He discovered that the building had originally been an open hall with a kitchen range at the South West end and a solar range at the North East. In the late 16th Century, a two storey extension was added to the front of the solar and then gradually over the next 200 years, other dwellings were built over and around the rest of the building - chiefly the old Falcon Inn.
When the later additions were stripped away, the Ark was found to possess two noteworthy features - namely the original large stones at the base of the medieval posts and the timber construction. The two large trusses are identical to those found in a roof at St Anthony’s Hall, York which date from about 1490; but the timber framing is of a type not found in York. It is a method of construction found chiefly in the Halifax/Huddersfield area of West Yorkshire and may be the eastern most example of its kind. |
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The gable between the original solar and the 16th Century extension is the same as those found at Kirklees Priory and at Sunny Bank, Greetland. Peter F Ryder, in his book "Medieval Buildings of Yorkshire", emphasised the rarity of this type of timber framing in this area.
The newly renovated building was used as a museum until 1984, when it was threatened with sale for commercial use. This would have closed it to public view.
The Civic Society stepped in and hosted a Town meeting in 1985 when a proposal for a second museum was adopted, to be run by trust and volunteers. This was very successful in terms of visitors but not financially viable, and by 1989 the Ark was empty once again. |
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In 1992 the Tadcaster Town Council bought the premises to use as its Council Offices and Council Chamber, thereby, hopefully, ensuring future accessibility to all who wish to see the building.
As Mr Riley-Smith said on the opening in 1962 "such a unique piece of architecture should, if possible, be preserved not only as a beautiful relic of the past, but also as a source of interest and instruction to students of the future".
Members of the Public are welcome to view the building during office hours. |
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