Photo: Hovingham Hall by Gareth Foster, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About this place
Hovingham Hall stands in the village of Hovingham, North Yorkshire, seventeen miles north of York.
It is a Palladian country house built between 1750 and the early 1770s, and it remains the family home of the Worsleys, who commissioned it.
The main entrance runs through an attached stable wing rather than a conventional hall front, a quirk of its original design as a riding school and house combined.
The house is open to group bookings by appointment only.
Read more on WikipediaHistory
The Worsley family has held the Hovingham estate for around 450 years, occupying the site from the 16th century onward. The present house was designed and built by Thomas Worsley himself between 1750 and the early 1770s, a rare case of an owner acting as his own architect. It later became the childhood home of Katharine Worsley, who married the Duke of Kent and became Duchess of Kent.
Architecture
The hall is built in the Palladian style from limestone ashlar with Westmoreland slate roofs, arranged on an L-shaped plan. Its stable wing, incorporating a riding school, forms the main entrance rather than a conventional formal front. The house is Grade I listed.
Worth knowing
Hovingham Hall was the childhood home of Katharine Worsley, later Duchess of Kent through her marriage to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
Gardens & grounds
The grounds include a Tuscan temple and an ornamental bridge over a waterfall, both Grade II listed, along with a Grade II listed pigeoncote and boundary walls.
Facilities
Plan your visit
Nearest station: Malton Rail Station (7.9 miles)
Open to group bookings of 15 people or more by appointment only, April to September.
Nearby properties
Historic places nearby
Within 5 miles of Hovingham Hall there are 4 historic properties, including 1 historic building, 1 church and 1 historic house, across Historic Houses, Churches Conservation Trust and National Trust sites.
Within 10 miles of Hovingham Hall there are 11 historic properties, including 5 historic buildings, 2 castles and 2 historic houses, across English Heritage, Historic Houses and National Trust sites.
Within 20 miles of Hovingham Hall there are 33 historic properties, including 12 historic buildings, 8 historic houses and 6 churchs, across English Heritage, Historic Houses and Churches Conservation Trust sites.
Facts
A Palladian house designed by its own owner, with a riding school built into the entrance front.
- Type
- historic house
- Location
- North Yorkshire, England
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