Denton Hall is an English country house located to the north of the River Wharfe, at Denton, Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England between Otley and Ilkley, and set within a larger Denton estate of about 2,500 acres (10 km2), including a village, church, and landscaped gardens. [1] It is a Grade I listed building. [2]
The written history of Denton goes back to at least 1253, when the then-owner, one Athelstan (not to be confused with the king of that name), made the estate over to the See of York, which already owned manorial rights in nearby Otley. [1]
It was subinfeuded (sub-let) at an early date to the Vavasours, and in 1284 Maugerus le Vavasur held the town for a fourth part of a knight's fee of the Archbishops of York, who continued lords paramount. In 1379, according to the poll-tax returns, one Adam Wayte appears to have been then farming the manor, at which time Denton had a more than ordinary reputation for clothes-making and drapery goods. The estate passed into the ownership of the Thwaites family when Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Thwaites, married John Vavasour of Weston, who died in 1482; records show the Thwaites family had been resident in Denton village earlier than that time. [1] Again through marriage, in 1515 the estate passed to the Fairfax family. [3] At the time of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron, Denton Hall had repute as housing one of the best libraries in Yorkshire (some of which later made up a part of the Thoresby Museum; others, including the Dodsworth manuscripts made their way to the Bodleian Library at Oxford). Denton was the birthplace and seat of Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, famous as a general and commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. [1]
The estate was eventually sold by Lady Fairfax, widow of the 5th Lord Fairfax, in 1717 to James Ibbetson, a member of an old Yorkshire clan which had grown rich from a Leeds merchant house devoted to cloth. [4] It is said that the sale was to pay off debts on her estates in Kent, but that the sale was made so recklessly that the price given for Denton was covered by the value of the timber on the estate. On the Ibbetsons coming into possession of Denton in 1717 they did much to improve the estate. Sir Henry Carr Ibbetson, Bart, as the first President of the Wharfedale Agricultural Society, specialised in the breeding of Shorthorn cattle. Later Ibbetsons were responsible for the erection of the second and third Denton Halls. [1]
By the marriage in 1845 of Laura, daughter of Sir Charles Ibbetson, Bart., with Marmaduke Wyvill, M.P., for Richmond, the Denton estate passed to the Wyvills in 1861. About 1902 the house was let, the furnishings being removed to the Wyvill's ancestral seat, Constable Burton, North Yorkshire. [5] It was again sold, to Albert Holden Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth in 1920, and then by him in 1925 to Arthur Hill, who made a number of alterations to the hall still evident today. It was most recently bought by the firm of NG Bailey in 1976, who have refurbished it, use it as offices and let out rooms for meetings and conferences. [3]
The current hall dates to the 1770s, with a cited completion date of 1778. It was designed and the construction overseen by John Carr, for Sir James Ibbetson, 2nd Bart. Twice before the hall had been burnt down through the (alleged) carelessness of servants, in 1734 and once rebuilt, again in 1743. This circumstance induced the builder of the present mansion to compose a Latin verse, which he had affixed in front of the building. It may be rendered as follows: [1]
Among the furniture supplied for Denton, the largest amount (£551) was delivered by Thomas Chippendale, born in the parish. [6] The other major supplier was the firm of Gillow of Lancaster; a small sum was spent with Ince and Mayhew.
Denton Hall has been used as a college for old people, and also was a location for two films: In the 1942 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp by Powell & Pressburger, it is the seat of the Wynne family, whose daughter Barbara marries the eponymous Colonel. It is also a setting for the non-animated elements of the 1978 film The Water Babies as Harthover Hall. [7]
Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 census. It is in two parts: south of the river is the historic town of Otley and to the north is Newall, which was formerly a separate township. The town is in lower Wharfedale on the A660 road which connects it to Leeds.
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented commander, Fairfax led Parliament to many victories, notably the crucial Battle of Naseby, becoming effectively military ruler of England, but was eventually overshadowed by his subordinate Oliver Cromwell, who was more politically adept and radical in action against Charles I. Fairfax became unhappy with Cromwell's policy and publicly refused to take part in Charles's show trial. Eventually he resigned, leaving Cromwell to control the country. Because of this, and also his honourable battlefield conduct and his active role in the Restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell's death, he was exempted from the retribution exacted on many other leaders of the revolution.
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron MP was an English nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1648. He was a commander in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War.
Marmaduke Wyvill was a leading English chess master and Liberal Party politician. He was among the world's strongest players in the 1840s and 1850s.
John Carr (1723–1807) was a prolific English architect, best known for Buxton Crescent in Derbyshire and Harewood House in West Yorkshire. Much of his work was in the Palladian style. In his day he was considered to be the leading architect in the north of England.
Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, England, near Crofton on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733, and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory. The Priory and its contents were given to the National Trust in 1953 by the trustees of the estate and Rowland Winn, 3rd Baron St Oswald.
Prince Henry's Grammar School, also known as Prince Henry's or PHGS, is a secondary school and sixth form established in 1607 in the market town of Otley, West Yorkshire, England. The school teaches boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 18 and has around 1,400 pupils and 84 teachers. It retains a high position within regional league tables. In 2016 Prince Henry's had the third highest results for GCSEs in Leeds. Also in 2016 PHGS was the best state school in Leeds for A Level results. The school has repeatedly received a 'good' rating from Ofsted with outstanding features, however has in the past received criticism for the state of the old school building. Despite the name, Prince Henry's is now a state-funded academy school.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now largely ceremonial.
Denton is a hamlet and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of this civil parish was less than 100. Details are included in the civil parish of Middleton, Harrogate. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of Ilkley, West Yorkshire. Denton Hall is located in the hamlet. The church in the village is noted for some its windows which instead of stained glass, are panels where the artists have painted directly onto the glass.
Weston is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is 1.2 miles (2 km) north–west of Otley and near the River Wharfe which forms the boundary between North and West Yorkshire. The name is from Old English and means western enclosure, farmstead or village.
Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron MP was an English nobleman, soldier, diplomat, and politician, his title being in the Peerage of Scotland.
Albert Holden Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth PC, was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Postmaster General between 1916 and 1921 in David Lloyd George's coalition government.
Francis Vernon, 1st Earl of Shipbrook, known as The Lord Orwell between 1762 and 1776 and as The Viscount Orwell between 1776 and 1777, was an English politician.
Sir Thomas Gascoigne, 8th Baronet was born on 7 March 1745 on the Continent into a devout Catholic gentry family based in Yorkshire. Despite receiving a solid Catholic education at institutions in northern France and Italy, Gascoigne would later renounce his religion to become a Foxite Whig Member of Parliament. Prior to his apostasy, he travelled extensively as a Grand Tourist throughout much of Spain, France and Italy in the company of the noted travel writer Henry Swinburne, who would later record their journeys in two popular travel guides Travels through Spain in the Years 1775 and 1776 (1779) and Travels in the Two Sicilies, 1777–1780 (1783–5). Together they gained close access to the leading courts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Naples. An honorary member of the Board of Agriculture, Gascoigne was an important advocate of agricultural reform as well as a considerable coal owner who helped pioneer technological developments in the extractive industries. He is emblematic of how movements within the Enlightenment were having a major influence on the attitudes, activities and outlook of many leading English Catholic gentry families in the period.
Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron of Denton, Yorkshire was a Scottish peer and politician. He was the grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
Nun Appleton Priory was a priory near Appleton Roebuck, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded as a nunnery c. 1150, by Eustace de Merch and his wife. It was dissolved by 1539, when the nuns were receiving pensions.
Charles Fairfax (1597–1673) was an English antiquary and genealogist.
Henry Fairfax (1588–1665), was an English priest and academic.
Keighley Rugby Union Football Club is a Rugby Union club based in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. The club currently play in Yorkshire 1.
The Church of St Helen, Denton is a parish church in the hamlet of Denton, near Otley, in North Yorkshire, England. The church was built in 1776 by the architect John Carr, who constructed it in the Gothic style, whereas he usually favoured the Classic style in his architecture. The church was built around a picture window taken from the chapel that it supplanted on the Denton Hall estate. The picture window still exists and is noted for being the only complete picture window by the artist Henry Gyles. A second piece of painted glass exists in the church, by the glass-painted William Peckitt. Whilst the church it is not a consecrated structure, services can take place there, and it is popular with people marrying due to its location close to a reception venue nearby.
