Cholmley House facts for kids
Cholmley House, also known as Whitby Hall, is a special historic building located right next to the famous Whitby Abbey ruins in North Yorkshire, England. It was built way back in 1672 by a man named Sir Hugh Cholmeley. His family had bought the land and the Abbey ruins after the monasteries were closed down in 1539. Before building this house, the Cholmeley family lived in what used to be the Abbey's gatehouse.
Cholmley House was originally designed as a grand place for parties and feasts, known as a banqueting house. It had a square courtyard in front, which is now called the Stone Garden. This garden even has a copy of a famous ancient statue called the Borghese Gladiator.
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The History of Cholmley House
From Grand Home to Ruin
In 1743, the Cholmeley family inherited other large estates and decided to move their main home to Howsham Hall. This meant Cholmley House was left empty and slowly began to fall apart.
A big storm hit in 1790, and the roof of the north side of the house was blown off. Because of this damage, that part of the house had to be taken down. Only the main hall was left, and even that started to decay over time.
Rescued and Reopened
Later, the Strickland family took ownership of the house. In 1866, they added strong arches inside to help support the walls and keep the building from collapsing.
In 1936, the Ministry of Works, a government group, took over the house and the Abbey ruins. They replaced the old arches with new, stronger ones. In 1984, the site was passed to English Heritage, another organization that looks after historic places.
A Modern Visitor Centre
Cholmley House was given a new purpose by a design company called Stanton Williams. It was transformed into a modern museum, a shop, and the main welcome area for visitors to the Whitby Abbey site. The newly restored Cholmley House was officially opened on March 30, 2002, by David Hope, who was the Archbishop of York at the time. Today, it helps visitors learn all about the history of Whitby Abbey.
