Duncombe Park

About this place

Duncombe Park stands a mile southwest of Helmsley, above the meanders of the River Rye in the North York Moors National Park.

It has been the seat of the Duncombe family since the early 18th century.

The estate runs to hundreds of acres of parkland and includes a celebrated 18th-century landscape garden known as the Terraces.

The house itself remains closed to visitors, but the gardens and parkland walks open seasonally.

History

The house was completed in 1713 for Thomas Duncombe, born Thomas Brown, to designs by the Yorkshire gentleman-architect William Wakefield. Sir Charles Barry remodelled it in 1843. A fire gutted the main block in 1879 and William Young rebuilt it in 1895, largely following the original plan. The family held the title Earls of Feversham until it became extinct in 1963, after which they continued as Barons Feversham.

Architecture

The house is a two-storey design over a basement and attic, originally built in 1713 and reconstructed to a near-original pattern by William Young after the 1879 fire, following Sir Charles Barry's 1843 remodelling.

Worth knowing

The estate is home to the International Centre for Birds of Prey.

Gardens & grounds

The Terraces, an 18th-century landscape garden with parkland walks, form the main visitor draw and are open seasonally between April and August.

Facilities