Easby Hall near Richmond in North Yorkshire, England is a building of historical significance and is listed on the English Heritage Register. [1] Built in 1729 by the Reverend William Smith, Easby Hall became the home of many notable people for the next two and a half centuries. It now provides bed and breakfast accommodation and is a venue for special events.
Reverend William Smith (c. 1653–1735) [2] built the Hall in 1729 shortly after he bought the Easby Estate. He was the son of Dr William Smith who lived in the village of Easby. [3] His mother was Anne Layton and his uncle was Henry Layton a philosopher and theological writer. [4]
William was educated at the local grammar school in Richmond and then went to the University of Oxford to obtain his degree. He was an antiquarian and obtained a Fellowship at Oxford where he remained for the next twelve years. In 1704 he became the Rector of Melsonby and retained this job until his death in 1735. [5] He continued his writing while he was at Melsonby and in 1727 at the age of 77 he wrote an 8 volume publication entitled The Annals of University College . [6]
In 1705 he married Mary who was the widow of Gerard Langbaine, a famous biographer. The couple had no children so when he died in 1735 he left Easby Hall to his nephew who was also called William Smith. However because of financial difficulties William sold the estate to his brother Thomas Smith who was an attorney. When he died in 1775 he left the property to his natural son who sold it in 1786 to Robert Knowsley of Wighill Park. Two years later in 1788 Robert sold the estate to Cuthbert Johnson of London. [7] When he died in 1790 he passed it to his second son also called Cuthbert Johnson. He rented the house to wealthy tenants for many years and then in 1815 he advertised the whole estate for sale. The advertisement is shown. The house was described in the following terms.
In about 1800 George Cuitt (1743–1818), a notable artist, painted Easby Abbey showing Easby Hall on the right. The picture above is an extract from this painting.
The house was bought in 1816 by Robert Jaques and was owned by this family until 1955.
Robert Jaques (1769–1842) was a gentleman and a breeder of race horses. [9] After he bought the Easby Estate in 1816 he turned the property into a breeding stud. His son wrote a book on the history of the stud in 1860 and outlines the many famous racing horses that his father owned. [10] Robert was born in 1769 in Bedale, Yorkshire. He and his brother became merchants in London and both acquired considerable fortunes. In 1808 he married Sarah Whittaker and the couple had two sons and one daughter. Unfortunately she died in 1814. Shortly after he married Mary Lunn [11] and the couple had a daughter Sarah who was born in 1816 in Easby Hall. When he died in 1842 his eldest son Richard Machel Jaques inherited the property.
Richard Machel Jaques (1809–1889) was born in 1809. He was educated at the University of Cambridge. In 1836 he married Frances Hickes who was the daughter and heiress of Fowler Hickes of Silton Hall. For several years before he inherited Easby Hall he lived at St. Trinians Hall which is nearby. [12] The couple had seven children – four sons and three daughters. He continued running the Easby Estate as a race horse stud for some time and then later became prominent as a breeder of shorthorn cattle and Berkshire pigs. [13] For while he undertook some mining ventures but this was not a success. Richard died in 1889 and in his obituary he was described as "a country gentleman of the old school, and a fine specimen of the Yorkshire squire. He was universally popular in the North-Riding, being a true sportsman, a considerate landlord, a kind neighbour, an excellent judge of livestock, and a first-rate farmer". [14] He was succeeded by his eldest son Leonard Jaques.
Leonard Jaques (1839–1916) was born in 1839 in Easby. In 1864 he married Agatha Eliza Boddam, daughter of Colonel Alexander Boddam-Whetham of Kirklington Hall. The couple bought Wentbridge House near Pontefract and had two sons there. Unfortunately Agatha died in 1882. In 1885 Leonard married Mary Clara Partridge (1848–1932) who was the daughter and sole heiress of Rev. William Edwards Partridge owner of Horsenden House. When her father died in 1886 Mary inherited the Horsenden Estate and this property then came into the Jaques family. [15] Leonard inherited Easby Hall when his father died in 1889 and in 1900 added the south wing which still bears his initials.
Leonard died in 1916 and his son Robert Harold Whetham Jaques (1875–1953) inherited the Hall. In 1918 he married Bertha Hibbert (1891–1923) however she died in 1923 in Monte Carlo when they were on a touring holiday. [16] He died in 1953 and the estate was sold in 1955.
Farnley Hall is a stately home in Farnley, west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is a grade II listed building. It was built in Elizabethan times by the Danbys. The manor is recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Fernelei, so it is probable that this house was a replacement for earlier medieval structures.
Branston Hall is a country house in the village of Branston, Lincolnshire, England. The hall, a Grade II listed building, is set in 88 acres of wooded parkland and lakes.
Easby is a hamlet and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Richmond on the banks of the River Swale, approximately 12 miles (19 km) north west from the county town of Northallerton. The population taken by ONS was less than 100. Population information is included in the parish of Hudswell.
Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, 2nd Baronet was a British baronet and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1777.
Close House is a country estate near Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. The estate contains a Grade II* listed former mansion house, which is currently a private residence, and Close House Golf Club.
Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton was an English soldier and courtier, serving Richard II of England. He also fought under Edward the Black Prince at the Battle of Crecy in 1346.
Middleton Lodge is a Georgian Palladian mansion set within 200 acres (0.81 km2) of open countryside, on the outskirts of the village of Middleton Tyas, a mile or so off the A1 near Scotch Corner and a 15-minute drive from Darlington, County Durham.
Sir Thomas Wharton was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622.
Wood Hall Hotel and Spa, Trip Lane, is an AA four-star, 44-room country house hotel with an AA two-rosette restaurant, about one mile from the English village of Linton, West Yorkshire. A Grade II listed building that was once owned by the Vavasour and Scott families.
The Palmes family of Naburn Hall, and the cadet branches of Lindley Hall, North Yorkshire; Ashwell, Rutland; and Carcraig in Ireland, are an ancient English aristocratic family, noted for their adherence to Catholicism.
Thomas Yorke (1658–1716) of Gouthwaite Hall and Richmond, Yorkshire was an English landowner and Whig politician, who sat in the House of Commons of England and Great Britain between 1689 and 1716, with two short intervals.
Wentbridge House Hotel near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England, is an historical house of significance. It dates from 1700 and is built in the Georgian style. The house was occupied by many interesting people and was owned at one period by the Sayle family who lived in this area for several centuries. The property is now a hotel and provides accommodation, dining and function facilities
Larpool Hall, Whitby in Yorkshire is a Georgian house of historical significance and is listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the late 1780s and was a private residence for about two centuries. It is now a hotel which provides accommodation and a sociable bar.
Oakmere House is a public house and restaurant in Potters Bar, England, and a grade II listed building with Historic England. The pub is under the management of the Harvester company. The rear of the building faces onto Oakmere Park. The L31 German Zeppelin fell on an old oak tree in the grounds of Oakmere Park after being shot down by Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest on 1 October 1916. His small plane was slightly damaged on landing back at his base, and he suffered a few injuries. He went next day to Oakere Park, Potters Bar, see what he had done the night before! This famous zeppelin was captained by the German hero of the time, Heinrich Mathy. He and his 18-man crew were all killed, and buried in the Potters Bar cemetery until their bodies were transferred to Cannock Chase many years later. The Potters Bar Museum has a section devoted to this important incident in the aerial battles over England. After the death of Mathy, zeppelin raids decreased.
Philip John Miles (1773–1845) was an English landowner, slave owner, merchant, shipowner, banker and politician from Bristol. Through his banking interests he found himself on the register of owners of slaves on plantations in Jamaica though only as mortgagee in possession in cases when his bank had taken possession of plantations through the default of their owners on mortgage payments. He left an estate of over £1.2 million, making him the first recorded millionaire of Bristol.
Nibley Hall, North Nibley in Gloucestershire is a Grade II* listed house on the English Heritage Register. The Neoclassical Georgian facade dates from 1763 behind which lies the Jacobean manor house built in 1609 by John Smythe the Elder, Steward at the time to Lord Berkeley. Nibley Hall is known as an example of exceptional Georgian design and for its stucco rococo style ceiling located in its drawing room thought to have been inspired by the work of the famous Swiss-Italian stuccoist Giuseppe Cortese. Today Nibley Hall is a private residence.
Pipewell Hall in Northamptonshire, England, is a building of historical significance and is Grade II listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built near the ruins of a Cistercian abbey in 1675. At this time it was owned by the Barons of Powis. The house was constructed from the stones of the abbey. The Hall was the home of many notable people over the next three centuries and is now a wedding venue.
Thomas Yorke (1688–1768) of Gouthwaite Hall and Halton West, Yorkshire was an English landowner and politician, who sat in the British House of Commons between 1757 and 1761.
Reverend William Smith was an English antiquary responsible for the cataloguing of the archives of University College, Oxford, and composing an original and controversial history of the college, The Annals of University College. Smith was a Fellow of Oxford University, from 1675 to 1704, and then the rector of Melsonby, from 1704 to 1735.
John Whetham Boddam-Whetham was an English naturalist, traveler and first-class cricketer.
