Exploring Medieval York: A Day at Barley Hall York with Kids

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If you’re looking for a fun and educational family outing in York, Barley Hall is a must-visit. This hidden gem is a stunningly restored medieval townhouse where kids can step back in time and explore history in an interactive and engaging way.

Where is Barley Hall?

Coffee Yard, off Stonegate
York,
YO1 8AR

Phone number: +44 01904 615505
Email: barleyhall@yorkat.co.uk
Website: https://www.barleyhall.co.uk

Opening times

Barley Hall opens at 10am daily, with closing times of either 3:30pm or 4:30pm, depending on the time of year. Check the website for accurate times.

Ticket prices

An admission ticket to Barley Hall allows the holder to unlimited FREE entry for 12 months from the date of purchase. It is advisable to pre-book tickets online prior to your visit.

Barley Hall accepts the Visit York Pass.

The Pastport includes entry to DIG, Jorvik Viking Centre, Barley Hall and the City Walls Experience at Micklegate Bar.

Visiting Barley Hall

Barley Hall was once going to be destroyed, as the building looked a lot more modern than it does now. It was only when the building was going to be destroyed that the timber frames were exposed. The York Archaeological Trust bought Barley Hall in 1987 and they were able to restore this stunning medieval townhouse. The oldest parts of barley hall date date back to around 1360. 

The Great Hall

On the ground floor of this reconstructed medieval townhouse you’ll find the Great Hall, which has been decorated to replicate what it would have looked like as the Snawsell home around 1483. It was interesting to learn what life would have been like in medieval England, and how people would have lived. Staff are on hand here to explain a bit about a family that would have lived at Barley Hall, who would sit where and what they would have eaten. You can pick up a lot of the ‘food’ in the Great Hall too and actually sit at the tables. 

Learn about life at Barley Hall

In a number of rooms at Barley Hall you can learn about the lives and the home of York residents during the medieval period. This historic building has high ceilings to marvel at in places, as well as rooms made up to replicate medieval life. You’ll be able to imagine where people slept and worked, as well as where the food would have been stored. Along the way, there are things for children to do such as learning how writing was done with a quill. Not only are you learning about the history of York but about how people would have lived here. Some who used to live at Barley Hall include Priors of Nostell and even a former Mayor of York.

The Bard at Barley Hall

During our visit we got to experience The Bard at Barley Hall, one of the exhibits. This area is quite obviously all about William Shakespeare and while it doesn’t really have much to do with Barley Hall itself, it was an interesting exhibit.

You can see costumes of famous actors such as Al Pacino’s Shylock costume from A Merchant of Venice, Michael Fassbender’s Macbeth costume and Kate Winslet’s Ophelia costume from Hamlet. Children can also get involved here by making a shadow puppet show and dressing up themselves.

How long should you spent at Barley Hall?

Barley Hall is quite a small attraction and it won’t take you very long at all to get around. We spent just under an hour at Barley Hall during our visit.

Would we go back?

Although Barley Hall was only small, it was a nice place to visit. There was enough to keep Erin entertained, thanks to the hands on areas and we loved being in such an amazing medieval building. It was nice to see a building such as this restored to it’s original splendour and you can see that a lot of work has gone into the Barley Hall exhibition. 

We were glad that this was included with the Visit York Pass as I feel the entrance fee is a little high on its own. It’s also great to visit if you have purchased the York Pastport which gives you entry to 4 different places. Would we go back? Maybe not now that we have been once but I am glad we went while we were in York. 

Other great things to do with kids in York: