Description

KIRBY KNOWLE WHINMOOR HILL
SE 48 NE
(NORTH SIDE, OFF)
4/29 KIRBY KNOWLE CASTLE
(formerly listed as
1.5.52 New Building)
GV II
Marked on O.S. Map as Newbygill.
Large house. Mid C17 for James Danby with C16 origins; thoroughly restored
1875, and altered 1875. Ashlar, Welsh slate roofs. 3-Storey, 4-bay main block
with 2-storey canted bay added to right in front of a further 2 bays which
extend rearwards beyond the main range and has another block to the north
(altered C20); in the rear angle so formed is a 5-stage tower; at the left
(west) end of the main block is a further, lower, 2-storey 1 x 2-bay addition.
Chamfered plinth, double-chamfered mullion-and-transom windows, continuous
dripmoulds between floors, high panelled parapet screening roof with
semi-circular crenellations and obelisk corner finials. South front; cross
windows to main range and to each face of canted bay which has an openwork
parapet and conical roof. Stacks at ends of blocks. Tower rises above roof
line. Rear: quoined lower has a double-chamfered window to all but 5th stage
and lowest stage which has a 2-light C19 window above a blocked segmental-arched
opening; double-chamfered window to each floor of right return; parapet is
corbelled and has moulded panels divided by baluster-like pilasters with finials
and central semicircular crenellations. The 2 bays to right of tower have
cross-windows to ground floor and transomed 3-light windows above; the 2nd floor
dripmould has decorative head-stops. The added bay on right has a cross-window
to ground floor and round window in lozenge above. Left return: the addition
has a C19 single-storey porch with segment-headed doorway and corniced parapet;
cross windows; 2 heart-shaped openings at eaves level and 2 crow-stepped gables.
Right return: transomed windows of 2, 3, and 4 lights; a chamfered doorway to
centre of left-hand block. Interior not inspected, but VCH notes an oak stair
in the tower (VCH, p.45). A castle is said to have been built on this site in
the late C13 by Roger Lascelles, but it burnt down c1568 while owned by Sir John
Constable. Before he could finish the repair work Constable died and it was not
until the 1650s that reconstruction began again, for James Danby. Danby
repaired the old parts, built the south front and west wing and changed the name
to New Building. By the late C17 the house had passed to the Rokeby family.
(W. Grainge, pp. 238-247; VCH, P.45)
W. Grainge, The Vale of Mowbray: a historical and topographical account of
Thirsk and its Neighbourhood (1859).
Victoria County History, North Yorkshire, Vol II.

Listing NGR: SE4590587467

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q24661267

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)