William Robinson was one of the most successful merchants in Elizabethan York and was painted by an unknown artist c.1590. He was a Member of Parliament, Sheriff of York and twice Lord Mayor as well as being the Governor of the Merchant Adventurers on three occasions. His influence on the Company and their Hall can still be seen today. In 1558 he joined the Company of Merchant Adventurers and would remain a Member for 58 years. Just over ten years later he was in dispute with the Lord Mayor for refusing to buy and wear a “crimson gown” in his capacity as Sheriff. He only relented when he was threatened with the closure of his shop and a fine of £20. He must have got used to his red gown though, as he is wearing one in his panel portrait!

Queen Henrietta Maria was the youngest daughter of King Henry IV of France, born in 1609 at the Palais du Louvre, part of the famous Louvre Museum. She married King Charles I in a proxy marriage in 1625 at 15. This portrait is an early 18th century copy of a painting by Anthony Van Dyck. It is one of five copies of an original full-length portrait which was once on display at Warwick Castle, now in a private collection. It shows a pregnant Queen cradling her abdomen with a crown on the table beside her, signifying her rank. The painting was added to the collection to commemorate a visit in 1642 during the English Civil War. Queen Henrietta Maria observed the squalid conditions of Parliamentarian prisoners and gave money for their rank.

A past time of the great and good of York was to promenade. In 1730 a promenade route was constructed by the River Ouse lined with trees and named ‘A New Walk’. This view of the New Walk which is a 19th century watercolour copy of a famous 1756 painting by Nathan Drake depicts a group of well-dressed York residents promenading whilst sailing ships sail down the river. A local newspaper described it as..." one of the most agreeable public walks in the Kingdom for its great neatness, beautiful town and situation which is so advantageously seen in its prospect as to render it not unlike nor inferior to any of the views in Venice.”

Joseph Terry was Lord Mayor on four occasions and was also Governor of the Merchant Adventurers. The portrait was painted whilst he was Lord Mayor of York, likely in his final stint by Irish artist, Emily Lawton Barnard. Sir Joseph was well liked amongst York residents arranging citywide galas, picnics and church services at York Minster. York City Council wrote that his name “appeared at the head of every charitable subscription list” and that he was widely recognised as ‘magnificently bearded’. By 1886, around the time this portrait of Sir Joseph Terry was painted, Terry’s had become a sole chocolate manufacturer and Joseph was at the helm when the now commonplace chocolate box assortment was invented – named Britannia.

In this gouache on paper by railway artist, Fred Taylor; York Minster looms large over the city with a busy scene depicted below. Created sometime between 1925 and 1935 as an advert for the railways; a military parade is crossing over Lendal Bridge whilst several rowing boats on the River Ouse pass under the bridge and people in fashionable clothing make their way in the direction of the Minster. In the early 20th century, tourism in York boomed as increasing wealth and improvements in transport, particularly in the railways, brought more people to the city.