Where the original Dr Slop lived
As you approach York Minster from Duncombe Place, several other buildings compete to catch your eye. One is St Wilfrid’s Catholic Church, said to have been carefully positioned so that, from this angle, it appears larger than the Anglican Minster. Another is a handsome brick-and-stone house with a strikingly bright façade.
This is the Red House, the architect of which is said to be William Etty, whose statue stands in front of York Art Gallery a short walk away. It was built for Sir William Robinson, MP for York from 1697 to 1722 and its lord mayor in 1700. When he finished his year in office, the city corporation wanted to use the Red House as the official mayoral residence, but Sir William was having none of it. He refused to move and so the city had to build the Mansion House.
Info
Address 1 Duncombe Place, York YO1 7ED, +44 01904 637000, www.redhouseyork.co.uk, redhouseac@gmail.com | Public Transport 5-minute walk from Bootham Row car park. Closest bus stop: Exhibition Square | Hours Mon–Fri 9:30am–5:30pm, Sat 9:30am–6pm, Sun 10:30am–5pm| Tip Visit York, the tourist information centre, is just across the road from the Red House: lots of commemorative York gifts to buy, plus information on the latest shows, events, and festivals.
In 1740, the chief physician to York County Hospital, Dr John Burton, moved in. His books included An Essay Towards a Complete System of Midwifery, illustrated by George Stubbs, who was world famous for his paintings of horses.
In his 1759 novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Laurence Sterne based the character of Dr Slop on Dr Burton. It wasn’t a flattering portrait: Slop is described in the book as a “squat, uncourtly figure” with a “sesquipedality of belly.” There was bad blood between the two families: Laurence’s uncle the Rev Jacques Sterne once had Burton, a Catholic, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Jacobite rebellion of 1745.
As befits a house with such a colourful past, the Red House today is an antiques centre. Now owned by Tim Hogarth, who stars in the ITV show Secret Dealers, the three floors are home to ten showrooms, including a dedicated vintage room in the attic. There’s an extraordinary range of items on sale, from jewellery to autographed memorabilia. And if all that browsing leaves you thirsty, no problem: in 2015, the Red House opened its own cafe.
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