Rokeby Park facts for kids
Rokeby Park is a beautiful old country house in Northern England. It is built in the Palladian style, which means it looks like ancient Roman buildings. You can find it near where the River Tees and River Greta meet. This area is in County Durham.
Long ago, this land was part of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Rokeby Park is the private home of Sir Andrew Morritt. But it is also open to visitors on certain days.
A Famous Painting and a Poet
Rokeby Park was once home to a very famous painting. It is called The Toilet of Venus by Diego Velázquez. Today, people often call it The Rokeby Venus. This painting is now in the National Gallery, London. You can see a copy of it in the main room at Rokeby Park.
The famous writer Sir Walter Scott loved to visit Rokeby Park. He even used it as the setting for his long poem Rokeby. He wrote this poem in 1812.
Building Rokeby Park
The house itself is very interesting. It was finished in 1735. Back then, it was known as Rokeby Hall. Sir Thomas Robinson built it. He was a very good architect. The house is a great example of the Palladian style. Sir Thomas owned the house until 1769. Then, he sold it to JS Morritt. The Morritt family still owns the house today.
Inside the House
Much of the inside of Rokeby Park was designed by John Carr. He was a famous architect. The house has many beautiful things to see.
You can find a collection of special needlework pictures there. These were made by Anne Morritt (1726–1797). She was the unmarried sister of JS Morritt. There is also a rare "print room." Its walls are covered with old pictures from the 1700s.
