CELEBRATIONS have begun to mark the 650th anniversary of the founding of a medieval guild.

The Company of Merchant Adventurers of York bought land in Fossgate on December 16, 1356, and built a guild hall, which is now among the city's tourist attractions.

Many of York's 80 craft guilds were wound down in the 1830s, when local government was reorganised, but the Merchant Adventurers survive as an educational charitable trust and a discussion group for business leaders.

An interactive exhibition, Meet the Merchants, was opened at the hall by Lord Crathorne, Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, on Saturday. It is aimed at younger visitors and tells of the role the company played in the creation of York's wealth.

Anniversary events continue over the coming year to mark the granting of the company's royal charter by Edward III and Elizabeth I and, in September, an international conference commemorates medieval trading links between York and Europe.

Peter Addyman, company governor and retired director of York Archaeological Trust, said it was a phenomenal achievement for an organisation to reach its 650th anniversary.

"The Merchant Adventurers went on when other guilds closed down because they had their own endowments and their own hall. The distinguished families of York kept the tradition going in the 19th Century."

The hall, which was also a chapel and a hospital, was regarded as one of the finest of its type in Europe. It was built from 20,000 bricks, limestone quarried at Tadcaster and oak felled in the great forest of Galtres, near Easingwold.