In 1357 a group of local merchants came together to form an association and build the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall which remains almost unchanged to this day. They were entrepreneurs of the 14th Century and traded from the then port of York across the North Sea to major European cities. They used the Hall as a place to conduct their business and spiritual affairs and look after the poor and sick in the City.
Today the guild (or Company as it is now called) is no longer a trading association but many of the ancient purposes remain. It holds the medieval Hall in trust, operates the Hall as a museum and venue for events, has strong charitable programmes and continues to play an important role in the business life of the City.
Today the Company’s members are drawn from all avenues of business and professions across the City, North and East Yorkshire. The Company continues to maintain its Hall with its charitable status for the education and enjoyment of the public. Through its charitable trusts it actively supports enterprise education, business enterprise, local pensioners and the public understanding of science and the arts.
The overall objective of the 1988 Charitable Trust, referred to as the Education Trust, is:
“to provide inspirational experiences for as many young people as possible within state education in our region; to increase their awareness of the opportunities which exist in enterprise, business and commerce to enable them to maximise their potential.”
The Education Trust supports projects in our region including:
