We were invited to visit the Georgian Fairfax House nestled in York City Centre, and most importantly, we had a wonderful time exploring a hidden gem in the city.
Essentially Fairfax House is a Georgian House that time forgot. It has been lovingly maintained and preserved by the staff and group of volunteers that help run the house.
Inside, your self-guided tour takes you through the various rooms of the house to see how the Georgians of a certain “class” lived at that time. There are helpful information notes throughout the house to help you learn more about the house and the time.
However, the star of the show was the children’s guidebook which followed the path of the house mouse, Gregory. The trail throughout the house helps point out particular things of interest to children and ask them questions/activities. This comes as part of the child’s admission and importantly, does help children be enthused about the venue. (Adults without children would also find it useful!)
The attraction is essentially a piece of history, therefore there is very little that the children can touch, therefore, it might not be suitable for children of a certain age. Also, as the house is from the Georgian times, pushchairs have to be left at Reception.
Besides Gregory, the house mouse, the other star of the show were the volunteers/staff who were based in each room. They were really enthusiastic about the house, therefore were willing to spend a lot of time talking to everyone (both young and old) about the house and the particular nuances of the house. This will also help the littler ones maintain interest and learn as they go round.
There are loads of Christmas events going on in the house, importantly including mince pies and story telling, which can be found here: http://www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk/whats-on/
All in all, we spent about an hour at Fairfax House. As it is situated in the city centre, it means you could make a day of it and couple it up with a visit to Jorvik. Jorvik is about 100 yards away, or a trip to the Barbican Theatre is 5 minutes walk away.
As at December 2017, the ticket prices are:
Adult: £7.50
Concession: £6.00 (applies to over 60s and students)
Children: £3.00 (over 6 and under 16) and include the Townhouse Mouse Trail or Townhouse Mouse Quest.
Family ticket: £17.50 (2 adults and up to 3 children)
Importantly, you can visit as many times as you like in a 12 month period – bargain!!! (Taken from http://www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk)
Importantly, photos are not allowed in Fairfax House, therefore, they have kindly allowed me permission to use some of theirs for this post.
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