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Tucked away from the hustle of the city centre, Barley Hall is perhaps a great place to escape the modern world. The medieval town house has been lovingly restored by the York Archaeological Trust. It opened to the public in 1993, this year it's expected to attract around 16,000 visitors and the volunteers are a vital part of the operation.

Retired teacher, Tony Turner.

Retired teacher, Tony Turner is one of those volunteers. Tony works three days a week at Barley Hall, he explains how he got involved; "When I retired, I knew I had to do something, I couldn't just sit around all day. I had to keep my brain active. I had an interest in history and archaeology, so volunteering for the Trust seemed ideal."

Tony's been at Barley Hall for three years and can turn his hand to pretty much anything, whether guiding visitors around the property, working behind the till or serving behind the bar. He explains that volunteers have a lot of freedom "We're encouraged to learn for ourselves about the property and the history of the period, there's plenty of information and records available to us. I was able to find out lots of things that I include in my tours to try and make them entertaining and interesting."

Dorothea Webb is another of Barley Hall's retired volunteers, she works one day a week either in the shop or behind the bar. She started volunteering for the Trust after moving to York, "I wanted to do something that would give me an interest, get me out of the house a bit and let me meet new people."

Helen Williams in the Great Hall

What do you need to be a volunteer?

Helen Williams, the volunteer coordinator for the Trusts attractions says, "We get all sorts of people coming along to help us run Barley Hall. You don't need to have a background in history or archaeology, though an interest in the subject helps, of course."

There's a huge range of things you can do as a volunteer, as Helen points out, "We encourage our volunteers to choose to do the things that really interest them. We're happy to help people develop skills they already have or help them learn new ones."

The opportunities are certainly varied - conducting tours for school children, getting involved in research projects, devising special tours of the building, or simply helping in the bar and behind the till in the shop.

Tony at work in the shop

Tony and Dorothea both point out one main advantage of working at Barley Hall - the great variety of people you get to meet. "The company here is great, it's such a lovely bunch of people to work with", says Dorothea. Tony agrees, "We have a great and varied team here. One week during the summer I was the only British volunteer, as we had students working in the house from all over the world."

Helen Williams says, "We're attracting more and more visitors each year. The York Archaeological Trust is an educational charity and welcomes the range of skills and experiences that the generosity of our volunteers brings. As our visitors increase we hope that the numbers of volunteers involved will also grow, so come and join us."