Howsham Hall is a stately home

Stately home

A stately home is a "great country house". It is thus a palatial great house or in some cases an updated castle, located in the British Isles, mostly built between the mid-16th century and the early part of the 20th century, as well as converted abbeys and other church property...

 in Howsham

Howsham, North Yorkshire

Howsham is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is home to a beautiful small parish church and Howsham Hall. Howsham appeared as Husun in the Domesday Book....

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, built in the early 17th century. The hall is now a grade I listed building.

The Hall was built on the site of a previous manor house using stone from the nearby Kirkham Priory

Kirkham Priory

The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey...

 following its dissolution under Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

. The house was completed somewhere between 1608 and 1610. The cellar

Basement

__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...

 is Norman

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 and the main part of the house is Elizabethan

Elizabethan era

The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...

, however the structure of the building has been altered over the years. There is a Georgian brick

Brick

A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...

 extension at the back of the house and some of the windows have been altered so they have larger panes in the Georgian style.

It was for many years the seat of the Cholmeley family from 1610-1949. The grandfather of Karl Pearson

Karl Pearson

Karl Pearson FRS was an influential English mathematician who has been credited for establishing the disciplineof mathematical statistics....

 lived there. (He was reputedly the illegitimate son of Nathaniel Cholmeley.)

In the grounds are three Giant Sequoia

Sequoiadendron

Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...

 trees arranged in a triangle. These were given to a limited number of country estates in the seventeenth century.Sequoias were unknow to european horticuture till the middle of the 19th century, post the California goldrush. The old gates for the estate are several miles away towards York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 and have been recently restored.

The building is affected by the Curse of Kirkham, the curse states that "All male heirs of the estate would perish [and] that true happiness would never come to that family or its successors".

The House and estate is currently up for sale for £5,000,000.

Introduction

Howsham Hall was bought in 1956 by John Knock. It had been due to be demolished by the council, but in 1958 it opened as an independent boys' school

Independent school

An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

. In 1997 the school introduced both girls and day pupils. The school was closed on 6 July 2007 at the end of the Summer Term due to dwindling pupil numbers.
The School's motto was Potentes Virtute (Strength In Courage). In 1997 the school introduced both girls and day pupils increasing school numbers to around 60.

The School

The subjects that the school taught were French, Maths, English, Latin, Poetry, History, Debating, Singing, R.E., Ancient History, Hand Writing, Art, Geography, I.T. and Science. Drama was also offered to pupils up until year 7. The school also offered music lessons. The total number of pupils was approximately 60 which meant that each year had around 10 pupils in each year group. This meant that class sizes were small as well. Howsham Hall was a Roman Catholic school and had a morning and evening service every weekday and mass on Sunday. In the Autumn and Spring terms boys played rugby, with the school fielding a 1st XI and an U11s team. Pupils also did cross country on Mondays culminating a 7 mile run at the end of the spring term called the "championship" an inter house competition. In the summer term boys did cricket with the school fielding 2 teams senior and junior and the girls did rounders. Horse riding was also offered on Tuesday afternoons and Swimming was done up until year 7 (Form 2) on Friday morning at Pickering

Pickering, North Yorkshire

Pickering is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England, on the border of the North York Moors National Park. It sits at the foot of the Moors, overlooking the Vale of Pickering to the south...

. The school also offered occasional canoeing, shooting and sailing.

Allegations of abuse

In 1998 allegations of abuse

Abuse

Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...

 were brought against the school by a former pupil. The allegations included the beating

Physical abuse

Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.-Forms of physical abuse:*Striking*Punching*Belting*Pushing, pulling*Slapping*Whipping*Striking with an object...

 of pupils with straps, pupils being made to stand in cold baths for hours, public humiliation

Humiliation

Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It can be brought about through bullying, intimidation, physical or mental mistreatment or trickery, or by embarrassment if a person is revealed to have...

 of bed-wetters and censorship of letters home, however none of these allegations were proven and were subsequently dropped after numerous testemonials from other former pupils.

Curse of Kirkham

When Kirkham Priory

Kirkham Priory

The ruins of Kirkham Priory are situated on the banks of the River Derwent, at Kirkham, North Yorkshire, England. The Augustinian priory was founded in the 1120s by Walter l'Espec, lord of nearby Helmsley, who also built Rievaulx Abbey...

 was demolished following the Protestant Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

, the stones were taken away by a local family and used in the construction of Howsham Hall. It is said that true happiness would never come to the that family or its successors. This is the legend associated with Howsham Hall. The Bamburughs constructed the house using stones, timbers and other material from the Priory

Priory

A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...

. This was considered sacrilege at the time so it is said that a curse was placed on Howsham Hall and the people that owned it. The curse stated that "All male heirs of the estate would perish". The Bamburugh family died out because of the lack of male heirs, the Wentworth intermarried with the Bamburughs and they too became extinct. The family that became owners next, the Cholmelys also became extinct, and the Stricklands have only one female member of the family left. The next family to buy the house were the Knocks, so far the legend continues as Anthony Knock died after losing a battle with cancer in 2004. The curse continues.