Scampston Hall facts for kids
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Scampston Hall is a beautiful old country house in North Yorkshire, England. It's known for its amazing park, which was designed by famous landscape artists like Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. You can find it about 4 miles (6 km) east of Malton, right in Scampston village. The village name has been spelled in different ways over time, like Scamestun, and probably came from someone's name long ago.
The house itself has two floors and is made of orange-red brick. It has a slate roof and cool brick chimneys. The front of the house has seven sections, with the middle three curving outwards, which looks really neat!
Contents
History of Scampston Hall
Scampston Hall was first built in the late 1600s for a person named William Hustler. Imagine living in a house that's hundreds of years old!
New Owners and Big Changes
In the 1690s, a new family bought the estate: the St Quintins. Sir William St Quintin, 3rd Baronet was an important person who managed money for Ireland and was also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Hull. An MP is someone elected to represent people in the government.
When Sir William passed away in 1723, his nephew, also named William, inherited the estate and his title. This William was also an MP, representing Thirsk. He married a very rich lady named Rebecca Thompson. With her money, he was able to make the estate much bigger and hire the famous landscape designer, Capability Brown.
Designing the Park
Capability Brown, along with Charles Bridgeman, helped design the huge park around Scampston Hall in 1772. It's about 1.7 square kilometers! They created a winding, snake-like shape for the park. One special feature is an unusual "Bridge Building." It looks like a bridge but actually hides the end of a lake, making the view look complete.
Changes in Family and Style
The St Quintin family title, called a baronetcy, ended in 1795 because the last Sir William (the 5th Baronet) didn't have any children. The estate then went to his nephew, William Thomas Darby. He decided to take the St. Quintin name in 1795.
Between 1795 and 1801, William Thomas hired an architect named Thomas Leverton. Leverton completely updated the hall in a style called Regency, making the inside look very grand and fashionable for that time.
Later Generations
William Thomas passed away early in 1805, and his 7-year-old son, William, inherited the hall. This William mostly lived in London but returned to Scampston when he became High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1850. A High Sheriff is a very old and important role, representing the King or Queen in a county.
William died without children in 1859, and his brother, Matthew Chitty Downes St. Quintin, took over. Matthew was a Justice of the Peace (JP), which means he helped keep law and order. He was also a colonel in the army.
Matthew's son, William Herbert St. Quintin, was born in 1851. He was also a JP and an alderman, which is a senior member of a local council. He was appointed High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1899 and was also a Deputy Lieutenant. He was very interested in nature and animals.
New Families and Modern Times
When William Herbert St. Quintin died in 1933, the St. Quintin name connected to the estate ended. His daughter, Margery, had married Lt. Col. Edmund George S. L'Estrange Malone, so the estate passed to the Lestrange Malone family.
In 1959, Scampston went to the Legard family because Colonel Malone's daughter, Mary, had married Sir Thomas Legard. Today, their grandson, Christopher, owns the estate. He was also the High Sheriff of North Yorkshire in 2018/19.
Wildlife and Gardens
The park at Scampston used to have a large herd of deer until World War II. There's even a book that talks about the bird-keeper's experiences with the birds at Scampston when William Herbert St. Quintin lived there.
In 2004, a newly designed Walled Garden at Scampston opened. It was designed by a famous garden designer named Piet Oudolf. It's a beautiful place to explore!
Scampston Hall Today
In October 2021, Scampston Hall received money from the government's Culture Recovery Fund. This fund helps historic places like Scampston stay open and well-maintained.
You might have even seen Scampston Hall on TV! A BBC show called "An Inspector Calls" (based on a play by J.B. Priestley) was filmed there and shown in September 2015.
Today, you can visit Scampston Hall and take a guided tour to learn more about its history and see its beautiful rooms.
