[122978] York : Fairfax House - Admiral Robert Fairfax.
Fairfax House, Castlegate, York, 1755-62.
By John Carr of York (1723-1807).
For Viscount Fairfax of Emley.
Grade l listed.
Admiral Robert Fairfax (1666-1725).
Unknown artist.
Oil on canvas, c1695.
Admiral Robert Fairfax was born in Newton Kyme and was a member of the Steeton branch of the Fairfax family. He had a townhouse on Micklegate and was appointed Lord Mayor of York in 1715.
Robert had a lengthy naval career and during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) he was instrumental in the capture of Gibraltar. For this he was awarded the Gibraltar Cup by Queen Anne, which is held in the collection here at York Civic Trust.
Robert is shown with a pair of callipers in his hand pointing at a globe which is turned to show viewers the Mediterranean Sea. In the background the artist has included a naval battle scene, likely in reference to Fairfax's capture of Gibraltar from the Spanish.
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Fairfax House is a triumph of Georgian design. Bought by Charles Gregory, 9th Viscount Fairfax of Emley, for £2000 in 1759, he employed master architect John Carr of York to transform the existing building into a magnificent and fashionable townhouse. Lord Fairfax gifted the house to his sole surviving child making Anne Fairfax a property-owning woman in her own right.
Here both Anne and her Father spent the winter season. Standing on the thriving street of Castlegate, the main thoroughfare to York Castle, and sitting on the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss, Fairfax House was at the very centre of York’s polite society and perfectly positioned as a base from which to enjoy York’s burgeoning city-life and social scene.
[122978] York : Fairfax House - Admiral Robert Fairfax.
Fairfax House, Castlegate, York, 1755-62.
By John Carr of York (1723-1807).
For Viscount Fairfax of Emley.
Grade l listed.
Admiral Robert Fairfax (1666-1725).
Unknown artist.
Oil on canvas, c1695.
Admiral Robert Fairfax was born in Newton Kyme and was a member of the Steeton branch of the Fairfax family. He had a townhouse on Micklegate and was appointed Lord Mayor of York in 1715.
Robert had a lengthy naval career and during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) he was instrumental in the capture of Gibraltar. For this he was awarded the Gibraltar Cup by Queen Anne, which is held in the collection here at York Civic Trust.
Robert is shown with a pair of callipers in his hand pointing at a globe which is turned to show viewers the Mediterranean Sea. In the background the artist has included a naval battle scene, likely in reference to Fairfax's capture of Gibraltar from the Spanish.
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Fairfax House is a triumph of Georgian design. Bought by Charles Gregory, 9th Viscount Fairfax of Emley, for £2000 in 1759, he employed master architect John Carr of York to transform the existing building into a magnificent and fashionable townhouse. Lord Fairfax gifted the house to his sole surviving child making Anne Fairfax a property-owning woman in her own right.
Here both Anne and her Father spent the winter season. Standing on the thriving street of Castlegate, the main thoroughfare to York Castle, and sitting on the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss, Fairfax House was at the very centre of York’s polite society and perfectly positioned as a base from which to enjoy York’s burgeoning city-life and social scene.