The launch on the market of houses such as the recently-restored, historic Kirkby Hall in the North of England highlights the wealth and power of the landowners that built them. For sale through Knight Frank’s country department and Blenkin & Co in York at a guide price of £3.75 million, Georgian, Grade II*-listed Kirkby Hall stands in 20 acres of spectacular gardens, paddocks and woodland, a mile to the north of Kirkby Fleetham village, four miles from Bedale and 10 miles from the road and rail hub of Northallerton, in the picturesque Hambleton district of north Yorkshire.
Kirkby Hall offers more than 16,200sq ft of living space on three floors, including a showstopping reception hall with a grand cantilevered staircase and double doors leading to a 46ft-long drawing room that overlooks the beautifully kept gardens and lake.
The dining room and sitting room are south facing, elegantly proportioned and ideal for formal entertaining.
The library is a quiet refuge from the spacious living kitchen, which works well as a day-to-day hub, and the vast lower ground floor offers flexible space as well as extensive storage. The first floor houses the master and four en-suite bedrooms, with a further four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the second floor.
The east wing is arranged as three separate, self-contained units — two apartments and a cottage — all currently let, with vacant possession available on completion. A stone coach house, built in a neo-Classical 18th-century style, offers secure garaging for four luxury cars and stabling for four horses.
John Aislabie, MP for Ripon and Chancellor of the Exchequer until his leading role in the South Sea Bubble scandal led to his disbarment from public office for life, was still a wealthy man when, in 1721, he retired to his Studley Royal estate near Ripon, where he continued to wield considerable local influence. At about the same time, he bought the Kirkby Fleetham estate for his son, William, who was to serve as MP for Ripon for the next 60 years.
Following his father’s death in 1742, William inherited the Studley Royal estate and, in the late 1760s, purchased the next-door Fountains Abbey estate, where he extended the formal gardens laid down by his father to create England’s most important 18th-century water garden, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site owned by the National Trust.
At Kirkby Hall, he laid out the gardens and grounds that form a picturesque setting for the house that he built for his daughter, Ann Sophie, in the mid 1700s. The Kirkby Hall estate later passed via William’s grand-daughter to the Waller family, who sold it to Edward Courage of the Courage brewing family in 1889.
Thereafter, the estate was gradually dispersed and, in 1979, planning consent was granted for change of use of Kirkby Hall from a private dwelling to a country house hotel, reverting to residential use following its acquisition by its present owner, Karen Stephenson, in 2003.
During her tenure, Mrs Stephenson has restored, modernised and adapted the imposing main house to make it the fine sight it is today.
Kirkby Hall is for sale at £3.75 million — see more details and pictures.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
Best country houses for sale this week
An irresistible West Country cottage and a magnificent Cumbrian country house make our pick of the finest country houses for
-
From California to Cornwall: How surfing became a cornerstone of Cornish cultureA new exhibition at Cornwall's National Maritime Museum celebrates a century of surf culture and reveals how the country became a global leader in surf innovation and conservation.
-
Jaecoo 7 SHS: Can you really get a luxury SUV for £35,000?The Chinese automaker Jaecoo lands on UK shores with the 7. We take it for a spin around Scotland and the north of England to see if the hype is real.
-
18 magnificent homes for sale from £550k to £20 million, as seen in Country LifeFrom a charming thatched cottage to a 300-acre estate with its own vineyard, here's our pick of places to come to the market via Country Life of late.
-
If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
-
The sounds of spring and stained glass in an Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece in DorsetWith 35 acres, more than 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court, Winterfield has it all.
-
An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventureThe interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
-
A lakeside farmhouse on the market in the beautiful heart of PembrokeshireA lake, streams, 15 acres and five bedrooms. Rogershook might have it all.
-
An idyllic countryside home that's light, spacious and comes with a Grade II-listed follyHagg House is a gorgeous family home that just happens to have a miniature castle in the gardens. Annabel Dixon explains more.
-
A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich historyThree floors, lots of balconies, and a private garden in one of Rome's loveliest neighbourhoods.
-
Eight bedrooms of unlisted Edwardian elegance with sweeping views of SomersetAshton House sits near the market town of Chard and comes with a wealth of amenities both inside and out.
