YORK'S first new trade guild in 700 years has reached the 100 member mark as creatives in the city combine to promote a new heritage for media arts.

The Guild of Media Arts has become the city's eighth guild and has now reached its first member milestone after being launched last year.

Joining seven other ancient guilds in York dating back to the 14th and 15th century, the Guild of Media Arts was launched in October as part of work to build on York's status as the first UNESCO City of Media Arts in the UK.

Membership to the Guild was promoted at an event at Hiscox in December to celebrate the first anniversary of the UNESCO status designation in the hope of building membership into 2016.

Chris Bailey, acting master of the Guild, and chairman of York at Large, said: "It's extremely good news to have reached the 100 member mark, it's very promising for the future of the guild and its sustainability as we setting up something we want to last well into the future.

"Around two thirds of those we have signed up have said they willing to organised and help co-ordinate the activity of the Guild, which is a good sign we are going to have a very active membership.

"We've got members from across the media arts sector which is great to see and adds strength to the work we do collectively.

"What people have said to us in York in the past is they wanted an organisation to bring together creatives to discuss how they can make a bigger impact in York.

"The creative sector is a growing industry in York, it's important that it is represented and the Guild is doing that.

"We have ambitious objectives to project York's creative talent onto the world stage, and ensure there's a digital awareness across all generations."

The Guild, which is open to individual members either representing themselves or businesses and organisations in the city, is work to bring together creative professionals in the city, as well as support events such as the planned Mediale festival in 2017/18, and host an educational programme to inspire the next generation of people into the media arts sector.

While previously ceased ancient guilds have been reformed in more recent years, the Guild of Media Arts is the first entirely new guild in York for around 700 years.

By 1415, there were 96 craft guilds in York, however now there are only eight – The Company of the Merchant Taylors, The Company of Merchant Adventurers of the City of York, The York Guild of Building, The Company of Cordwainers, The Company of Butchers of the City of York, The Guild of Scriveners of York, the Gild of Freemen of the City of York and now the Guild of Media Arts.

The Freemen are the city’s oldest guild, dating back to the mid-1100s when they negotiated a Royal Charter making them the only people allowed to trade in the city.

The York Guild of Building was founded in the 1300s, and resurrected in the early 1950s. The Company of Cordwainers was also started in the 1300s, but ran out of money in the 19th century. It was resurrected by a group of business people involved in the shoe trade in the 1970s.

Another guild to be reformed more recently is the Guild of Scriveners of York which was formed in 1487 and was brought back to life in 1981.