Photo: Danby Hall by Chris Heaton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Danby Hall began as a fourteenth-century pele tower above the River Ure near Thornton Steward, North Yorkshire.
The Scrope family has held it since the sixteenth century, having settled in the district as far back as the twelfth.
The house is a Historic Houses member property, and visits are arranged through the organisation rather than through regular public opening hours.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
The original tower was greatly enlarged in 1658 and remodelled again in 1855 by York architect Joseph Hansom, who added a new garden front. Local tradition holds that the house was reduced from three storeys to two during that work. Danby Hall was given grade I listed status in 1967.
Architecture
Built of stone beneath a Welsh slate roof, the house has an H-shaped plan with a five-bay entrance front and two projecting bays. The parapet is pierced and balustraded, carrying carved initials and a date.
Worth knowing
The Scrope family's long connection to the house includes evidence of their Catholic recusancy, with priest hiding holes present in the building.
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Finghall (Wensleydale Railway) (2.4 miles)
Nearby properties