Goldsborough Hall
Encyclopedia
Goldsborough Hall is a Jacobean
stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire
, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association
. The house itself is a Grade II* listed building.
The current Hall was built for Sir Richard Hutton
(1560–1639) after he acquired the Goldsborough Estate in 1598.
The original building still stands and is occupied as a private family home that is not open to the public.
The Hall is available for bed and breakfast guest accommodation or exclusive hire for weddings and private functions.
, a prominent lawyer in London, who became High Sheriff of Yorkshire
in 1623. On his death, in 1639, the Hall passed to his son, also called Sir Richard Hutton. Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
had been knighted by Charles I
in 1625 and became one of two MPs for Knaresborough
. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire
and Governor of Knaresborough Castle
when the English Civil War
broke out. During the Civil War, the house was forcibly occupied by Oliver Cromwell
’s army in 1644 while they besieged Knaresborough Castle. Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
fought at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644 and was killed at Sherburn-in-Elmet
in 1645.
The hall passed to the Wharton family when Sir Richard's daughter, Elizabeth, married the Hon Philip Wharton. Her sister married Colonel Anthony Byerley of Middridge
Grange. Their son Robert Byerley married Elizabeth and Philip's daughter, Mary Wharton in 1695. Robert Byerley was MP for County Durham and represented Knaresborough nine times between 1697 and 1710. He was a soldier and fought at the Battle of Buda
1686 and the Battle of the Boyne
1690. The story goes that Robert Byerley captured a fine brown horse at the Battle of Buda, the Byerley Turk, which is the eldest founding father to all thoroughbred
horses. The Byerley Turk was buried at the Hall in 1706.
As Robert and Mary Byerley's five children all died without issue, the Hall was sold to Daniel Lascelles and became part of the Harewood
estate during the construction of Harewood House
in the 1750s. The house was remodelled by John Carr and Robert Adam
. The Hall remained within the Lascelles family for 200 years, being used as Dower House, the heirs-in-waiting house, a hunting lodge, or even rented out when not needed for the viscount, earl in waiting. In the late 19th century the hall was rented out to Sir Andrew Fairbairn
, a Liberal MP while he was building his country house at Askham Grange and the estate at Askham Richards.
The Hall became the first family home of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
and Viscount Lascelles, Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood
after their marriage in 1922. Their son, George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood was christened at the adjoining Goldsborough church on 25 March 1923, the service was attended by King George V and Queen Mary
and presided over by Cosmo Lang
, the Archbishop of York
. The King and Queen visited their daughter and grandchildren George and Gerald Lascelles
, and stayed at Goldsborough Hall on many occasions throughout the 1920s.
During World War II
, Oatlands School, Harrogate (now the site of St Aidan's School
) was stationed at the Hall. The owners of the school, the Boyer family, bought Goldsborough Hall from the Harewood estate in 1951. The rest of the village was sold at auction in 1952, ending 1,000 years of the estate village.
In 1966 the school closed and the Hanson family purchased the Hall and its land reverting the Hall to a private house. Due to ill health, the Hansons had to sell the hall in 1977. It was sold to a Leeds-based developer, West and Sons, who further developed Hall and, they, in turn sold the Hall to Mrs Elsie Sharpe-Day who converted the building into a luxury country house hotel that never opened.
In 1979 the Hall was acquired by Russell Stansfield Smith who lived in the house as his family home before converting it into a 60-resident, 40-bedroom nursing home that opened in 1983. The Hall became the flagship of a group of nursing homes called Goldsborough Estates. In 1997 BUPA
acquired Goldsborough Estates and looked at ways to bring the Hall to meet with modern standards in nursing practice. Due to the historic nature of the building, it was considered to be impractical and the Hall closed as a nursing home in May 2003 and was subsequently advertised for sale.
In 2005 the Hall was acquired by the Oglesby family who once more converted it back to a private family home.
style that befits their original creation in the time of Princess Mary. The gardens are open to the public for two days a year (March and July) under the National Gardens Scheme
.
The Hall is licensed for civil ceremonies and to serve alcohol.
The History of the Castle, Town and Forest of Knaresborough with Harrogate and its Medicinal Waters by Ely Hargrove, printed by Hargrove and Sons, Knaresborough, 1809 gives a brief history of the Huttons of 'Goldesburgh', 'Goldesburgh Hall' and Church
The Byerley Turk by Jeremy James, publ. Merlin Unwin Books, (2005) ISBN 978-1-873674-98-7 is a fictionalized account of the life of the Byerley Turk. It describes the Battle of Vienna
and the Battle of Buda (1686)
, with a Turkish perspective
.
Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles by Evelyn Graham, publ. by Hutchinson & Co, London (1929) recalls Princess Mary's days at Goldsborough Hall in Chapter XVII 'The New Homes: Chesterfield House and Goldsborough Hall' and Chapter XVIII 'Life at Goldsborough Hall'.
The Tongs And Bones: The Memoires of Lord Harewood, published by George Weidenfeld and Nicholson (1981), ISBN 0 297 77960 5. In the first chapter, Growing Up, Lord Harewood describes his childhood at Goldsborough Hall.
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire
Goldsborough, North Yorkshire
Goldsborough is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near the River Nidd and 1 mile east of Knaresborough....
, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association
Historic Houses Association
The Historic Houses Association, a not for profit organsiation, represents 1,500 privately owned historic country houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or registered gardens, usually Grade I or II* and often outstanding....
. The house itself is a Grade II* listed building.
The current Hall was built for Sir Richard Hutton
Sir Richard Hutton
Sir Richard Hutton was a Yorkshire landowner and judge who defied Charles I over ship money.Hutton was the younger brother of Sir William Hutton and son of Anthony Hutton. Born and brought up at Hutton Hall in Penrith, Cumbria, he went to Jesus College, Cambridge to study divinity but aged 20...
(1560–1639) after he acquired the Goldsborough Estate in 1598.
The original building still stands and is occupied as a private family home that is not open to the public.
The Hall is available for bed and breakfast guest accommodation or exclusive hire for weddings and private functions.
A brief history of Goldsborough Hall
The house was built from 1601 to 1625 for Sir Richard HuttonSir Richard Hutton
Sir Richard Hutton was a Yorkshire landowner and judge who defied Charles I over ship money.Hutton was the younger brother of Sir William Hutton and son of Anthony Hutton. Born and brought up at Hutton Hall in Penrith, Cumbria, he went to Jesus College, Cambridge to study divinity but aged 20...
, a prominent lawyer in London, who became High Sheriff of Yorkshire
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...
in 1623. On his death, in 1639, the Hall passed to his son, also called Sir Richard Hutton. Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
Sir Richard Hutton, the younger was a Yorkshire landowner and Member of Parliament for Knaresborough who lost his life in the English Civil War....
had been knighted by Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in 1625 and became one of two MPs for Knaresborough
Knaresborough
Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...
. He was High Sheriff of Yorkshire
High Sheriff of Yorkshire
The High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...
and Governor of Knaresborough Castle
Knaresborough Castle
Knaresborough Castle is a ruined fortress overlooking the River Nidd in the town of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England.-History:The castle was first built by a Norman baron in c.1100 on a cliff above the River Nidd. There is documentary evidence dating from 1130 referring to works carried out...
when the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
broke out. During the Civil War, the house was forcibly occupied by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
’s army in 1644 while they besieged Knaresborough Castle. Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
Sir Richard Hutton, the younger
Sir Richard Hutton, the younger was a Yorkshire landowner and Member of Parliament for Knaresborough who lost his life in the English Civil War....
fought at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644 and was killed at Sherburn-in-Elmet
Sherburn-in-Elmet
Sherburn-in-Elmet is a town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, situated close to Selby. It is one of only three places in the area to be explicitly associated with the ancient Celtic kingdom of Elmet via featuring the kingdom's title in its name, the others being...
in 1645.
The hall passed to the Wharton family when Sir Richard's daughter, Elizabeth, married the Hon Philip Wharton. Her sister married Colonel Anthony Byerley of Middridge
Middridge
Middridge is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated east of Shildon and north-west of Newton Aycliffe. The village is situated not far from a quarry that was mined by the people many generations ago...
Grange. Their son Robert Byerley married Elizabeth and Philip's daughter, Mary Wharton in 1695. Robert Byerley was MP for County Durham and represented Knaresborough nine times between 1697 and 1710. He was a soldier and fought at the Battle of Buda
Battle of Buda (1686)
The Battle of Buda was fought between the Holy League and Ottoman Turkey, as part of the follow-up campaign in Hungary after the Battle of Vienna...
1686 and the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
1690. The story goes that Robert Byerley captured a fine brown horse at the Battle of Buda, the Byerley Turk, which is the eldest founding father to all thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses. The Byerley Turk was buried at the Hall in 1706.
As Robert and Mary Byerley's five children all died without issue, the Hall was sold to Daniel Lascelles and became part of the Harewood
Harewood
Harewood is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. The A61 runs through the village, from Leeds city centre in the south to Harrogate in the north...
estate during the construction of Harewood House
Harewood House
Harewood House is a country house located in Harewood , near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a member of Treasure Houses of England, a marketing consortium for nine of the foremost stately homes in England...
in the 1750s. The house was remodelled by John Carr and Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
. The Hall remained within the Lascelles family for 200 years, being used as Dower House, the heirs-in-waiting house, a hunting lodge, or even rented out when not needed for the viscount, earl in waiting. In the late 19th century the hall was rented out to Sir Andrew Fairbairn
Andrew Fairbairn (politician)
Sir Andrew Fairbairn was a British Liberal politician.Fairbairn was born in Glasgow, the son of Sir Peter Fairbairn, of Woodsley House, Leeds and his wife Margaret Kennedy and educated at Geneva, at Glasgow, and at Peterhouse, Cambridge...
, a Liberal MP while he was building his country house at Askham Grange and the estate at Askham Richards.
The Hall became the first family home of Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood
The Princess Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood was a member of the British Royal Family; she was the third child and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the sixth holder of the title of Princess Royal...
and Viscount Lascelles, Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood
Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood
Henry George Charles Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood KG GCVO DSO TD , styled The Hon. Henry Lascelles before 1892 and Viscount Lascelles between 1892 and 1929, was the son of the 5th Earl of Harewood and Lady Florence Bridgeman.Lascelles was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and commanded the...
after their marriage in 1922. Their son, George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood was christened at the adjoining Goldsborough church on 25 March 1923, the service was attended by King George V and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
and presided over by Cosmo Lang
Cosmo Lang
William Cosmo Gordon Lang, 1st Baron Lang of Lambeth GCVO PC was an Anglican prelate who served as Archbishop of York and Archbishop of Canterbury . His rapid elevation to Archbishop of York, within 18 years of his ordination, is unprecedented in modern Church of England history...
, the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
. The King and Queen visited their daughter and grandchildren George and Gerald Lascelles
Gerald Lascelles
The Honourable Gerald David Lascelles was the younger son of the 6th Earl of Harewood and Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck. He was the first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He was styled The Honourable Gerald Lascelles...
, and stayed at Goldsborough Hall on many occasions throughout the 1920s.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Oatlands School, Harrogate (now the site of St Aidan's School
St. Aidan's C of E High School
St. Aidan's Church of England High School is a mixed Church of England School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It currently houses over 1800 students of both lower school and sixth form age. The school's Chamber Choir won the 2006 Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year Competition...
) was stationed at the Hall. The owners of the school, the Boyer family, bought Goldsborough Hall from the Harewood estate in 1951. The rest of the village was sold at auction in 1952, ending 1,000 years of the estate village.
In 1966 the school closed and the Hanson family purchased the Hall and its land reverting the Hall to a private house. Due to ill health, the Hansons had to sell the hall in 1977. It was sold to a Leeds-based developer, West and Sons, who further developed Hall and, they, in turn sold the Hall to Mrs Elsie Sharpe-Day who converted the building into a luxury country house hotel that never opened.
In 1979 the Hall was acquired by Russell Stansfield Smith who lived in the house as his family home before converting it into a 60-resident, 40-bedroom nursing home that opened in 1983. The Hall became the flagship of a group of nursing homes called Goldsborough Estates. In 1997 BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
acquired Goldsborough Estates and looked at ways to bring the Hall to meet with modern standards in nursing practice. Due to the historic nature of the building, it was considered to be impractical and the Hall closed as a nursing home in May 2003 and was subsequently advertised for sale.
In 2005 the Hall was acquired by the Oglesby family who once more converted it back to a private family home.
Goldsborough Hall today
After being a nursing home for over 20 years and then empty for a further two years, the Hall required a vast amount of restoration and maintenance. The current owners have refurbished the main state rooms and second-floor bedrooms suites, in order to host private weddings, corporate functions and events along with luxury five star guest accommodation. The gardens, neglected for years, have been replanted in a Gertrude JekyllGertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
style that befits their original creation in the time of Princess Mary. The gardens are open to the public for two days a year (March and July) under the National Gardens Scheme
National Gardens Scheme
The National Gardens Scheme, was founded in 1927 in England with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to the public for charity". Originally, the money was raised to provide pension support for district nurses; 609 private gardens were opened and £8,191 was raised.Over...
.
The Hall is licensed for civil ceremonies and to serve alcohol.
External links
- Goldsborough Hall Web site
- AA Five gold star rating for Goldsborough Hall
- Goldsborough village's Web site
Books
The Legacy: The Huttons of Penrith and Beetham by Barbara C Lee, publ. Titus Wilson & Son, Kendal, (1997) ISBN 0 9531444 0 2 is a history of the Hutton family with extensive references to Sir Richard HuttonSir Richard Hutton
Sir Richard Hutton was a Yorkshire landowner and judge who defied Charles I over ship money.Hutton was the younger brother of Sir William Hutton and son of Anthony Hutton. Born and brought up at Hutton Hall in Penrith, Cumbria, he went to Jesus College, Cambridge to study divinity but aged 20...
The History of the Castle, Town and Forest of Knaresborough with Harrogate and its Medicinal Waters by Ely Hargrove, printed by Hargrove and Sons, Knaresborough, 1809 gives a brief history of the Huttons of 'Goldesburgh', 'Goldesburgh Hall' and Church
The Byerley Turk by Jeremy James, publ. Merlin Unwin Books, (2005) ISBN 978-1-873674-98-7 is a fictionalized account of the life of the Byerley Turk. It describes the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
and the Battle of Buda (1686)
Battle of Buda (1686)
The Battle of Buda was fought between the Holy League and Ottoman Turkey, as part of the follow-up campaign in Hungary after the Battle of Vienna...
, with a Turkish perspective
Perspective (cognitive)
Perspective in theory of cognition is the choice of a context or a reference from which to sense, categorize, measure or codify experience, cohesively forming a coherent belief, typically for comparing with another...
.
Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles by Evelyn Graham, publ. by Hutchinson & Co, London (1929) recalls Princess Mary's days at Goldsborough Hall in Chapter XVII 'The New Homes: Chesterfield House and Goldsborough Hall' and Chapter XVIII 'Life at Goldsborough Hall'.
The Tongs And Bones: The Memoires of Lord Harewood, published by George Weidenfeld and Nicholson (1981), ISBN 0 297 77960 5. In the first chapter, Growing Up, Lord Harewood describes his childhood at Goldsborough Hall.