Mansion House could soon be available to hire for corporate bashes at £1,000 a pop. STEPHEN LEWIS looks at how the city is re-inventing itself as a quirky conference destination.

WHY do dull, when you could do grand, Gothic or simply gobsmacking?

That's the message York is sending out to corporate bosses in search of the ideal venue for a company bash - or anyone wanting to hold a private do with a difference.

News that the Mansion House may soon be available for businesses to hire as an exclusive venue for dinners and functions sets the seal on York's growing reputation as a quirky corporate conference destination.

York Tourism Bureau's conference marketing manager Kate McMullen said the city's history sets it apart from other destinations competing for corporate events.

"Conference organisers are always looking for something a little bit different," she said.

"Sometimes a hotel like the Royal York or the Moat House is the best venue for the actual conference. They might want to supplement that with an unusual venue for a drinks reception or dinner.

"York has a wealth of history and unusual venues. It certainly helps us to attract businesses from all parts of the UK and overseas.

"If it's an unusual venue, or a place where you don't normally get access to, it attracts delegates and makes the conference more successful. It adds atmosphere to an event."

What York hasn't got in size, it certainly makes up for in quality. From the medieval (the Merchant Adventurers' Hall or St William's College) to the Georgian (Fairfax House); from the grand (the Mansion House) to the jaw-dropping (the fantastic surrounds of the National Railway Museum's Great Hall), York's got the lot - all available for hire for those really exclusive corporate events or private dos.

But doesn't opening up the Lord Mayor's official residence for corporate bashes smack slightly of commercialism?

Not at all, says Darrell Buttery, chairman of the York Civic Trust, which paid for refurbishment of the Mansion House in 1998. Making it available for commercial hire is just a small part of what is being proposed, he points out - there are plans to stage regular public tours as well.

And making the historic building more open to the public is exactly what the Civic Trust wants. "We feel that it deserves to be better known and to be enjoyed by many more people," the former teacher says.

"In the 1970s and 1980s, I remember taking my sixth-formers from Nunthorpe Grammar School and being met by a butler with the longest face in the world saying: 'this is the Lord Mayor's home, you know'.

"But the Mansion House was built for entertaining, it was never built to be an exclusive home for the Lord Mayor. And if it can pay for itself this way, that seems to me to be absolutely ideal."

So what would you get for your money if you were to book the Mansion House? And what are some of York's other interesting and unusual venues? Here are just a few:

The Mansion House

Hiring the Lord Mayor's home out for corporate events is just a small part of what is planned, stresses Elizabeth Ellis, electoral and civic services manager with City of York Council.

The hope is that there will be regular, twice-weekly guided tours (possibly on Friday and Saturday) for those who want to have a look around.

There could also be occasional "silver tours", for those keen to find out more about the Mansion House's fine collection of silver, or "connoisseur tours" for those interested in its fine art or its furniture.

And what about those who book the Mansion House for an evening? What would they get? An evening in the grand style in a building that's almost 300 years old, that's what.

Dinner could be in the elegant dining hall, Elizabeth says, where the long dining table lined with leather-backed chairs each embossed with the Lord Mayor's crest can seat up to 42.

Or it could be in the even more imposing state room upstairs, a ball-room in the grand style where an oil painting of the Prince Regent hangs on one wall and two historic Caps of Maintenance (symbol of the monarch's Royal favour) are kept in glass cabinets.

The state room could be arranged to seat up to 60 for dinner, Elizabeth says. If that still weren't enough, a client could hire both rooms, with one being used for the reception, the other for dinner.

The aim is to keep the Mansion House a truly exclusive venue, however. To ensure it remains so, the plans are to restrict such events to six a year at first, rising to perhaps 15 a year later.

The Bar Convent

Why not get thee to a nunnery? The Bar Convent is a stunning Grade I Georgian listed building, right next to Micklegate Bar and just minutes from the railway station.

Despite being a living, working convent, it also has facilities for conferences and seminars. The main conference room seats 70 in comfort and is served by two smaller rooms next door.

Bishopthorpe Palace

If a nunnery's not good enough for you, what about a palace? Bishopthorpe Palace has been home to the Archbishops of York for almost 800 years, and stands in nine acres of beautiful grounds next to the River Ouse.

There is boardroom seating for up to 25 people, and theatre-style seating for 30.

The elegant drawing room, added to the palace in 1769, is used for meetings in a more informal style and the Great Hall, built during the 17th Century, can accommodate up to 50 people.

Fairfax House

Banquet in Georgian splendour in the Red Saloon, with liveried footmen, antique silverware and elegant period furniture.

The National Centre For Early Music

Another unique venue, housed in magnificent, medieval Grade I listed St Margaret's Church, Walmgate. State-of-the-art conference facilities, with theatre space for up to 200, boardroom space for 24, banqueting space for 80, plus purpose-built acoustics, syndicate rooms and audio-visual equipment. All that, and under-floor heating too.

St William's College

The college, founded in 1461, could hardly have a more unique backdrop: York Minster itself. Beat that.

Prestigious black-tie dinners for from 60-160 people are can be laid on - with an optional tour of York Minster thrown in. The college is also renowned for its medieval banquets, which make for an alternative evening of fun with sumptuous food and period entertainment. There is theatre space available at the conference centre for up to 200 people, and classroom space for up to 100.

The National

Railway Museum

The NRM has specialist conference facilities - a boardroom, 120-seat theatre room and other space. But it's the trains that make this such a special venue.

For a railway enthusiast, what could beat sitting down to dinner on the platform in Station Hall, or among some of the mighty engines in the Great Hall itself? An unforgettable experience.

Bedern Hall

A reconstituted beamed medieval hall in a quiet corner of York near the Minster, equipped with all modern conference facilities.

The Merchant Adventurers' Hall

One of the finest medieval guildhalls in Europe and the base for the company that made York rich and famous in the Middle Ages.

Now a splendid setting for modern entrepreneurs to meet and greet, wine and dine.

Merchant

Taylor's Hall

Medieval banquets, Viking feasts, dinner parties, wedding ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions: you name it, this venue can do it.

York Museums Trust

Take your pick from the Castle Museum or Yorkshire Museum (both available for hire after 6pm), or else the Tempest Anderson Hall or Hospitium. You can also hold your wedding reception at the Hospitium. Hospitality with a genuinely historic twist.

Updated: 11:33 Tuesday, November 09, 2004