DESCRIBED by selling agent Ed Stoyle of Savills in York (01904 617821) as ‘one of the most magnificent country houses in all of Yorkshire’, Grade II-listed Arthington Hall stands in 22 acres of gardens, grounds and ancient woodland on the banks of the River Wharfe, some nine miles from Harrogate and eight miles from Leeds, looking west over the valley to the arches of the Arthington Viaduct, with Ilkley Moor in the distance. Mr Stoyle quotes a guide price of £7.5 million for the hall, the Classical façade of which conceals a modern family home of rare distinction, following a root-and-branch restoration carried out by the current owners in 2014.
Originally built in the mid-15th century, the hall stands on the site of a Cluniac nunnery endowed by the Arthington family in the late 1200s and granted by Henry VIII to Archbishop Cranmer in 1543, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Following a fire in the late 1700s, the house was substantially remodelled for Henry Arthington by Yorkshire architect John Carr, who at that time was much in favour in Wharfedale, designing nearby Harewood House (jointly with Robert Adam) between 1759 and 1771, Denton Hall, near Ilkley, in 1778 and Farnley Hall, near Otley, in the 1780s.
This was a period when many rich Leeds merchants decided to swap the trading floor for the green and pleasant life of a country landowner, a condition that Carr himself aspired to and later achieved. Born the son of a stonemason in 1723, he went on to become Yorkshire’s most influential architect, was twice Lord Mayor of York and the owner of his own country estate at Askham Richard, near York.
Denne historien er fra October 18, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra October 18, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
