Newby Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newby Hall
"The finest house I saw in Yorkshire"
Type	House
Location	Skelton-on-Ure, North Yorkshire
Built	1695–1705, with later additions
Architect	Sir Christopher Wren (attributed), John Carr and Robert Adam
Owner	Richard Compton
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Newby Hall
Designated	23 April 1952
Reference no.	1150307
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Stables 150M north of Newby Hall
Designated	23 April 1952
Reference no.	1150308
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name: Inner and outer pairs of gate piers, with gates, 50M east of Newby Hall
Designated	29 October 1987
Reference no.	1289313
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name: Equestrian statue 150M east of Newby Hall
Designated	6 March 1967
Reference no.	1289184
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Skelton Lodges to Newby Hall
Designated	6 March 1967
Reference no.	1289365
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Newby Hall is a beautiful country house located next to the River Ure in North Yorkshire, England. It is about 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Ripon. This amazing house is a Grade I listed building, which means it's considered very important historically. Inside, you can find a wonderful collection of old furniture and paintings. Outside, there are huge, lovely gardens to explore. Newby Hall is open to everyone who wants to visit!

The Story of Newby Hall

Who Owned Newby Hall First?

The land where Newby Hall stands was first owned by the lords of Topcliffe Castle. Later, in the 1690s, the Crosland family sold the estate to Sir Edward Blackett. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Ripon.

Building the First Grand House

Sir Edward Blackett decided to tear down the old house and build a brand new, grand mansion. This happened around 1697. People believe that famous architect Sir Christopher Wren might have helped design it. A visitor named Celia Fiennes saw Newby in 1697 and called it "the finest house I saw in Yorkshire."

Sir Edward Blackett passed away in 1718. His son, also named Edward, took over. Then, his nephew, another Edward, inherited it. In 1748, this Edward sold the estate to Richard Elcock. When Richard's young son, William Weddell, became the owner in 1762, the house entered a new phase.

Making Newby Hall Even Grander

William Weddell (1736–1792) was also an MP. He had a lot of money from his great-uncle's business. He used this money to make Newby Hall even bigger and better in the 1760s.

New Designs and Roman Treasures

The inside of the house was completely redesigned by several famous architects. These included John Carr and Robert Adam. William Weddell was a big collector. He brought back many ancient Roman statues and artifacts from Italy in 1764–1765. These treasures were then displayed in Newby Hall.

William Weddell died in 1792. He left the estate to his relative, Thomas Philip Robinson. Thomas later changed his name to Thomas Weddell. When he died in 1859, Newby Hall went to his daughter, Lady Mary Gertrude Robinson. She married Henry Vyner.

The Vyner Family and New Additions

Lady Mary Gertrude Robinson had a church built on the grounds of Newby Hall. It's called the Church of Christ the Consoler. She had it built between 1871 and 1876 to remember her son, who sadly died in Greece in 1870.

An interesting equestrian statue was also moved to Newby Hall in 1883. This statue shows King Charles II on a horse.

After Lady Mary, her sons Henry Frederick Clare Vyner and then Robert Charles de Grey Vyner inherited Newby. In 1915, Robert's daughter, Mary Evelyn Vyner, became the owner. She had married Lord Alwyne Compton in 1886. She lived until 1957.

Newby Hall in Modern Times

The Compton Family's Care

The current owners of Newby Hall are the Compton family. They are related to William Weddell. They have worked hard to restore and care for the property.

The beautiful gardens you see today were mostly created by Major Edward Compton. He took over Newby in 1921. His son, Major Robert Edward John (Robin) Compton (1922–2009), continued this work. Robin Compton was in charge of Newby Hall from 1960. He was also an important local official, serving as High Sheriff of North Yorkshire in 1978.

In 1997, Robin Compton passed the estate to his younger son, Richard. His older son, James, had inherited another estate in Scotland.

Fun at Newby Hall: The Miniature Railway

In 1973, a miniature railway was built at Newby Hall. It was made even bigger in 1985. This fun train ride goes along the bank of the river.

On Sundays and holidays, a special train pulls the carriages. It's a 1/5-scale model of the famous Royal Scot locomotive. On other days, the train is pulled by other engines named Countess De Grey or Lady Mary Vyner. These trains run on LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).

Newby Hall on Screen

Newby Hall has been a filming location for several movies and TV shows:

• In 2007, the ITV/PBS film of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park was filmed here.
• It was also used as "Hundreds Hall" in the 2018 movie The Little Stranger.
• An episode of An American Aristocrat's Guide to Great Estates featured Newby Hall in 2020.
• The BBC One show Antiques Roadshow filmed two episodes at Newby Hall in 2020. They were shown in 2021.

Other Attractions at Newby Hall

In 2016, Gyles Brandreth moved his amazing Teddy bear museum to Newby Hall. It's a fun place to see many different teddy bears!

The hall also has a special collection of Cornus plants, also known as dogwoods. This is the UK's national collection for this type of plant. The collection was started in 1990 by Robin Compton. Some of the plants are even older, dating back to the 1930s. The oldest one is a beautiful Cornus kousa planted by Robin Compton's father.

Images for kids

• 

  The house viewed from the garden

• 

  Stable block

• 

  Gateway to the grounds

• 

  Equestrian statue of Charles II

See also

• Acklam Hall