Why is he living with the Merchant Adventurers?
What is Napoleon doing in York? This rather smart statue of the late emperor is many miles away from his French homeland, standing as it does in a corner of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall off Fossgate. Carved from a single piece of oak, this “Napoleon” first made its way to the UK as one of three similar statues imported from France in 1822. The York figure, bought for £50, is thought to be the only surviving one of the triplets. His resting place in the warmth of the hall is a well-earned retirement. Old Boney spent his working life advertising snuff, for which the emperor had a great fondness.
And he certainly put the hours in, spending a total of 177 years outside a tobacconist’s, first on Bridge Street and then on Lendal when the shop relocated. “The tourists love him, especially the French who are always hugging him and kissing him,” shop owner Judith Thorpe told the Yorkshire Evening Press in 1979.
Info
Address Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate, York YO1 9XD, +44 (0)1904 654818, www.theyorkcompany.co.uk, enquiries@theyorkcompany.co.uk | Public Transport 3-minute walk from Piccadilly car park. Closest bus stops: on Piccadilly | Hours Mar–Oct, Mon–Thu 9am–5pm, Fri–Sat 9am–3:30pm, Sun 11am–4pm; Nov–Feb, Mon–Thu 10am–4pm, Fri–Sat 10am–3:30pm, Sun closed| Tip To complete your collection of Napoleonic-York connections, head to Lendal Bridge; the elm tree next to the square tower was, it is said, grown from a cutting taken from the emperor’s St Helena grave.
Like the man himself, York’s Napoleon faced turbulent times. At one point in the Second World War, he was captured and flung into the River Ouse by a group of celebrating soldiers. He was hauled out at Naburn Lock. Another time, his owner mistakenly left him outside the shop overnight and he was taken into police protective custody.
Mrs Thorpe loaned Napoleon to the Company of Merchant Adventurers in 1997, and with them he has stayed. The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall is a suitably grand home, for Boney was nothing if not an adventurer. One of Britain’s finest remaining guildhalls, it was built between 1357 and 1361. Each of the medieval guild’s three spaces served a distinct function: the great hall hosted social events; the undercroft was used for charitable purposes; and religious services took place in the chapel.
Today the hall is used for many different events, from vintage fairs to musical performances and plays. All under the watchful eyes of Napoleon.
Back
To the online map