Lendal Tower
LENDAL TOWER, MUSEUM STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1257086
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1954
- List Entry Name:
- Lendal Tower
- Statutory Address:
- LENDAL TOWER, MUSEUM STREET
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
| Buildings |
| Scheduled monuments |
| Parks and gardens |
| Battlefields |
| Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-05-24
- Reference:
- IOE01/03719/08
- Rights:
- © Mr Chris Broadribb. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- I
- List Entry Number:
- 1257086
- Date first listed:
- 14-Jun-1954
- List Entry Name:
- Lendal Tower
- Statutory Address 1:
- LENDAL TOWER, MUSEUM STREET
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- LENDAL TOWER, MUSEUM STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- York (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SE 59991 51959
Details
YORK
SE5951NE MUSEUM STREET 1112-1/15/792 (North West side) 14/06/54 Lendal Tower
GV I
Defensive tower converted for use as water tower, now used as offices. c1300; heightened 1616, strengthened and extended c1677; altered for offices c1846; refitted 1932. Magnesian limestone, much re-used and including carved fragments of canopy, finial and other mouldings from the ruins of St Mary's Abbey (qqv): roof not visible but said to be of copper. EXTERIOR: 3-stage circular tower with extruded circular stair tower, on chamfered plinth; 3-storey extension. All parts are embattled. Tower entered through Lendal Hill House (qv): unused C19 shouldered doorway with panelled double doors survives in extension. Blocked slit lights are visible on ground floor of both towers: 1- and 2-light windows elsewhere in chamfered openings with chamfered mullions. INTERIOR: not inspected. RCHM record brick partition wall on the lower storeys retaining evidence of engine housings; wooden spiral staircase in stair tower; rooms on first and second floors fitted with panelling. HISTORICAL NOTE: the tower was leased to the Waterworks Company by the York Corporation in 1677 for 500 years in return for a peppercorn rent, still paid annually by the Company in 1994. (An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the City of York: RCHME: The Defences: HMSO: 1972-: 108).
Listing NGR: SE5999151959
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 464253
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
An Inventory of the City of York II Defences, (1972), 108
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 12-Jun-2026 at 14:52:51.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.