Description

NORTH YORKSHIRE
HARROGATE
5338

SE 2768 LINDRICK WITH STUDLEY FOUNTAINS LANE
ROYAL AND FOUNTAINS (east side, off)

9/34 Fountains Hall

23.4.52

GV I

Large house, now offices and exhibition centre. 1598-1611 for Sir Stephen
Proctor, with alterations by Mr Clare Vyner c1930. Grey limestone, stone
slate roof. Built in the Renaissance style of Robert Smythson. 3-bay
central block of 2 storeys plus basement flanked by projecting gabled wings
of 4 storeys plus basement and buttressed at each end by 5-storey projecting
towers. Central round-arched entrance flanked by coupled fluted Ionic
columns with statuettes of knights and 2 more in niches to left and right.
Balcony above with balustrade and 5 statuettes. Basement windows of 5
lights; 5-light mullion and transom ground-floor windows flanking and
slightly higher than the entrance. Behind the balcony is a tall
semicircular 5-light oriel window with 2 transoms and to left and right
equally-tall 2-transomed 5-light windows - the climax of the facade.
Flanking gabled wings: 3-storey bay window with transomed 5-light windows to
first, second and third floors; 3-light mullion windows in gable. Flanking
towers: 3-light mullion and transom windows to first, second and third
floors. Moulded string to each floor level. Crenellated parapets, the
wings with shaped gables. Large corniced stacks with coupled flues, mainly
to rear of ridge. Rear: shallow projecting gabled wings flanking central
recessed range; board door entered from terraced pathway (qv) over short
bridge at third-floor level, right. Interior: a flight of steps to right
immediately inside the entrance arch gives access up to the great hall. A
flight to the left leads down to the basement containing kitchen and service
rooms. The hall contains screens passage with enclosed gallery over; a
large fireplace with moulded Tudor arch against the north wall and flanked
by large mullion and transom windows; panelling. Original newel stair in
south-west tower; imported wooden-framed stair with large balusters and ball
finials in rear (north-east) wing (inserted c1930). The Great Chamber:
elaborate chimney-piece with strapwork, caryatids and sculptured panel
representing the judgement of Solomon; the ceiling a replica of that at
Canonbury Tower, c1930. In 1540 Fountains Abbey was bought by Sir Richard
Gresham and in 1597 it was sold to Sir Stephen Proctor, Collector and
Receiver of Fines on Penal Statutes to James I. Sir Stephen built the house
from stone taken from abbey buildings to south and east of the cloister, but
there is little sign of the stone being reused. He may have built on the
foundations of early C16 buildings near the Abbey gatehouse (Hope, p 133).
He died in disgrace and the Hall passed through several owners into the
hands of the Messenger family who held it until 1768 when William Aislabie
added it to his estate at Studley Park (qv) as the culmination of his
father's landscaped grounds. The combined estates then passed through the
ownership of the Robinson family of Newby Park, Ripon, including the first
Marquis of Ripon (1827-1909) who married Henrietta Vyner. In 1923 the Vyner
family came into ownership and the hall became a permanent residence again
after restoration. From 1966 the West Riding and North Yorkshire County
Councils were owners until the estate was acquired by the National Trust in
1983. 'Fountains Hall, Yorkshire', Country Life, August 15 1931. N
Pevsner, West Riding, p 213. W T C Walker, Studley Royal and Fountains
Abbey Estate, 1976.

Listing NGR: SE2714368298

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Fountains Hall at Wikipedia
• Fountains Hall official website
• Wikidata Q5474851

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

• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy