The Guildhall had a vital role in the city as a court of justice from the medieval period to the nineteenth century. A variety of courts were held there, the most important being the Petty Sessions, the Quarter Sessions, and the Assizes.
The Petty Sessions were the most regular courts, held on Mondays and Thursdays to deal with routine civil and criminal offences.
The Quarter Sessions were held four times a year and tried cases that were more serious in nature, but that would not warrant the death penalty. In 1892 these were moved to the Magistrates’ Court on Clifford Street.
The Assizes were held three times each year before a judge who travelled around the country to hear the most serious cases. These were moved to the Assize Court in York Castle in 1771. In the UK both the Assizes and Quarter Sessions were abolished in 1972 and replaced with the Crown Court.
One of the most notorious trials held at the Guildhall was that of Margaret Clitherow in 1586. She was a practicing Roman Catholic at a time when England was strongly Protestant, and was accused of giving hospitality to Catholic priests and hearing Catholic Masses. The Assize Court could not make her confess, so she was taken to be ‘pressed’ to death under rocks. She is regarded as a martyr by Roman Catholics and a reconstruction of her house and chapel can be seen on The Shambles in York.
