Barley Hall is reached through Coffee Yard, a narrow alleyway off Stonegate that most people walk past without noticing. The hall was discovered in 1984 when a restoration project began stripping Victorian plasterwork from what appeared to be a standard commercial building, and found a largely intact 14th-century timber-framed hall behind it. Subsequent research identified it as the house of William Snawsell, an alderman and goldsmith of York, and it has been restored and presented as it would have appeared in 1483 — the year Richard III became king, when Snawsell was at his most prominent.
The restoration is hands-on rather than hands-off: visitors are encouraged to handle reproduction objects, sit in the chairs, and explore the rooms freely. This makes it particularly good for children, though the historical interpretation is solid enough to hold adult interest. The York Archaeological Trust runs the hall and the admission charge is reasonable. Combined with Stonegate itself and the nearby Shambles, this part of the city is the densest concentration of medieval fabric in York.