The coat of arms of Ontario featuring a shield with a lion, surrounded by two regal-looking deer, and topped with a white unicorn holding a flag. Below is a banner with the Latin motto "Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt."

The Wilford Archive

comprising thousands of items, has been created over many years by one of the company’s longstanding members, Graham Wilford. It is a collection of images, records, documents, and all things Taylor's. Here are a few of them, some quirky, some historical, some ghostly.

A small selection from the Wilford Archives

A framed landscape painting depicts a pathway through a park with trees on both sides, people walking, and a sunset sky in the background.
A detailed coat of arms featuring a golden lion on the left and a silver unicorn on the right, both standing on a decorative scroll with the Latin phrase 'DIEU ET MON DROIT'. The shield in the center has red and blue sections with various heraldic symbols. Above the shield, a crown is topped with a lion. Behind the shield, a flourish of golden leaves extends outward.
Historic handwritten legal document with a portrait of a man in an oval frame at the top left corner, ornate decoration, and dense lines of old-fashioned script.
Wooden table with carved plaque and engraved text reading 'The Company of Mercian 1662' and 'Taylors in the City of York 2012'.
A fireplace with a fire burning, surrounded by ornate brass andirons, with wood paneling on the sides and a painted coat of arms or heraldic shield above it in a wood-framed arch, in a room with a red and black patterned carpet.
The coat of arms of Ontario, Canada, featuring a shield with a lion, two yellow giraffes as supporters, and a crest of a lamb holding a flag, with a Latin motto "Concordia Parvae Res Crescunt" at the bottom.
Interior of a church with a wooden altar, a stained glass window, framed lists of names, and a chandelier, viewed through open wooden doors.
A detailed illustration of a chandelier combined with a tall red Santa Claus hat at the top, with multiple candle-like lights hanging from curving arms.
Interior wall showing exposed wooden beams, brickwork, and aged plaster. There is a wooden door with arches at the top center, and wooden paneling to the right of the door.
A historic ritual or legal document featuring an engraved image of a king or ruler, ornate decorative borders, and handwritten annotations, with text formal and elaborate in style.
Black and white technical drawing of a lighthouse with detailed interior and a cutaway view of a tree trunk with branches on a piece of paper. The drawing includes labeled figures and a scale of 12 feet to 1 inch.
Two men in tuxedos, one with a bow tie, at a formal event.
Interior view of a room with dark wooden beams and a vaulted ceiling, three chandeliers with candle-like lights hanging from the ceiling, a coat of arms crest with a lion and a unicorn above an arched doorway.
Historic building entrance with a wooden door, decorative white archway, and inscription 'The Company of Merchant Taylors' above the doorway.
A stylized circus tent with pink curtains and black and white striped sides, surrounded by partially visible theatrical masks.
Interior of a historic building with wooden beams on the ceiling and three ornate chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, decorated with candles. There are stained glass windows on the wall, and faintly visible Christmas tree on the left.
A black and white photo of a small, old brick building with signs indicating it was a restaurant and an ale house, taken in Aldwark in 1910. The building has windows with multiple small panes, a door, and a hanging flower basket.
A brick building with multiple windows and a small white porch at the entrance, surrounded by a paved area and some overhanging tree branches.
A carved stone coat of arms featuring two lions supporting a shield with a crown and various heraldic symbols, and a banner with French text at the bottom.
Two theatrical masks, one happy and one sad, in front of red curtains.
Wooden judge's gavel with a light-colored handle
A long, clear, acrylic balance beam supported by two transparent stands on a wooden surface.

  • Behind the frontage properties were a series of small tenements including Ickringill’s Yard, almost filling what was to become the Hall forecourt, leaving the Merchant Taylors just the small yard area immediately in front of the Hall itself. Learn More

  • Was the original brick wall showing signs of distress, and was the buttress added some 200 years later to provide support? Learn More

  • The carved Arms were commissioned by the Company of Merchant Taylors in 1963 to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the granting of the Charter of Charles II, which incorporated the Company. Click here to learn more

  • The Charter of 1662, granted by King Charles II, is one of the most important documents in the history of the Merchant Taylors of York. It established the Company of Merchant Taylors in the City of York and remains its governing document. Click here to learn more

  • The Counting Table was commissioned to mark the 350th Anniversary in 2012 of the granting of the Merchant Taylors Charter in 1662.  The cost of £4500 was met from Members’ donations The Fabric Committee’s September 2011 recommendation to the Court, which was accepted and led to the making of the table Learn More

  • The Coat of Arms over the fireplace in the Great Hall (shown below) are those of the London Company of Drapers, as they existed during the period 1613 - 1668

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  • The painting of a tree-lined avenue leading to a fortified house hanging in the Small Hall has been there for as long as any recent Members can remember. It is commonly referred to within the Company as the ‘Dutch Painting’.  Learn more

  • The formal Grant itself is a beautifully embellished document lodged with the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York. Learn more

  • The stained-glass panel was painted in 1662 and is the earliest known work of Henry Gyles, the famous York glass painter - born in Micklegate, York in 1646 (died 1709).  Henry Gyles was largely responsible for the revival of glass painting in England after the Civil War, along with religious imagery. Learn More

  • In 1978, the lighting in the Great Hall consisted of eight small chandeliers, each with four lamps1 and a number of tungsten strip lights mounted on the cornice to the panelling.  Learn More

  • The major restoration of the Hall took place during the period 1948 to 1951, prior to that, the Hall in general and the Great Hall in particular were in a very dilapidated state. Learn More

  • This Indenture Made the fourth day of September in the thirteenth Year of the Reign of Our Sovereign George the Second by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King Defender of the Faith xx and in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and thirty nine . Learn More

  • There can be little room for doubt, from the records quoted below, that James Jenkinson, whose name is included in the Roll of  Merchant Taylors’ Masters hanging in the Small Hall, was indeed the father-in-law of John Smeaton FRS Learn More

  • As a result of discussions which started in September 1998, the Company agreed in May 1999 to mark the forthcoming Millennium, by commissioning Peter Mennim to paint a portrait of Members attending a reception in the Great Hall. Learn More

  • Whilst three of the Great Hall’s massive roof truss tie beams are straight, the tie beam nearest to the east window is noticeably arched, and on the window side of the arched tie beam, there are eight evenly spaced notches,What are they all for? Click here for the answers

  • The Entrance Porch to the Hall is one of the interesting external features of the Hall.  It protects the amazing old heavy timber door with its wicket door and is in line with the medieval ‘screens passage’ beyond Learn More

  • John Yackersley, bought for himself the site of the Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London in 1331. He was described as tent-maker or pavilioner to Edward II and Edward III

  • In 2012 the Merchant Taylors arranged for samples of the Hall’s roof timbers to be taken in order to determine their age.  This is termed a ‘dendrochronological investigation’.  It involves taking small diameter ‘cores’ from each of the separate roof timbers and then comparing the sequence of annual growth rings in the cores, with a reference set comprising the sequence of growth rings from trees of known ages. Learn More

  • The Stone Coat of Arms built into the west boundary wall of the hall forecourt depicts the Arms of the London Company of Merchant Taylors. It was carved in 1887 by George Walker Milburn. Learn More

  • from 1705 until the first York Theatre Royal was established by Thomas Keregan in 1734, he and his predecessors and their players provided the City’s regular theatrical entertainment in the Merchant Taylors Hall.   The Hall therefore played a very significant role in the history of York’s theatre at that time. Learn More

  • In 1668 Richard Mason called the then Master Jack Straker “Thou pitiful curr” and was fined 40 shillings (thats around £400 in todays’ money

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  • The Cloth Yard is divided into four, nine inch sections, one of which is further divided into two lengths of 2¼ inches, and one of 4½ inches. These divisions, known as ‘nails’, were the common measures used by late medieval cloth merchanted description