Allerton Castle, also known as Allerton Park, is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

nineteenth-century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

house at

Allerton Mauleverer Allerton Mauleverer is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Allerton Mauleverer with Hopperton parish. The parish is in the district of Harrogate, and lies just east of the town Knaresborough. From ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was rebuilt by architect George Martin, of Baker Street, London in 1843–53. It is east of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa wate ...

and just east of the A1(M), at its junction with the A59

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

- Knaresborough road and a late 20th-century block used for education and corporate functions. Outside is St Martin's Church, Allerton Mauleverer.

History

Pre-1786

The Allerton estate belonged to the Mauleverer family from the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

. The nearby church of St Martin contains several tomb-monuments to them. When Richard Mauleverer died heirless in 1692, Allerton passed to his wife, who left the estate to Richard Arundell, her son by her second marriage. Arundell rebuilt the house in the 1740s, and in 1745 remodelled the church in

Norman revival Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

style. The mid-18th century interior of the church remains unaltered to this day.

"The Grand Old Duke of York"

Following Richard Arundell's death in 1758, Allerton passed to Viscount Galway, whose son sold it in 1786 to Prince Frederick, Duke of York, second son of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and brother of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. Prince Frederick rebuilt the house to designs by Henry Holland, but sold the estate to Thomas Thornton shortly afterwards in 1789. Prince Frederick also constructed the Temple of Victory, which is today visible from the A1 on a high hill. According to local legend, the ant-like activity of workers constantly ascending and descending to build this gigantic mound inspired the famous nursery rhyme concerning

The Grand Old Duke of York "The Grand Old Duke of York" (also sung as The Noble Duke of York) is an English children's nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. The eponymous duke has been argued to be a number of the bearers of that title, particularly Prince F ...

and his 10,000 men.

1805–1983

The estate changed hands again in 1805 when purchased by the 17th Baron Stourton. The Hon Edward Stourton's family owned the house from 1805 to 1983 (the Lords Mowbray). The contents were sold in 1965. It then became 'Stourton House', and the Catholic peer added a chapel in

style. However, in 1843 his son demolished the Georgian house and engaged George Martin, to build the present house in a Tudor-Gothic style. In 1856 work came to a halt as there was not enough money to complete all the interiors. The house was used by the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environ ...

during the Second World War (for the headquarters of RAF Bomber Command's No. 6 Group RCAF) and in 1965. The family ceased to live there after the death of the 22nd Baron Stourton.

1983–present

In 1983 the house was sold to Dr Gerald Rolph, an American businessman. The purchase included the house and gardens, but not the surrounding park which was retained by Lord Mowbray. Dr Rolph set about renovating the building to the highest standards, filling the house with furniture and pictures of appropriate scale and splendour. The estate is now run by the Gerald Arthur Rolph Foundation for Historic Preservation and Education, and rooms are available to hire for corporate events and weddings. A severe fire in January 2005 caused substantial damage to the north aspect of the castle, including the main dining room, library, rear entrance hall, two bedrooms and adjoining dressing rooms and bathrooms and the Servants' Wing. Restoration work commenced in the spring of 2006 and is now more or less complete. The restoration work by specialist contractors consisted of substantial repairs to the ornate stonework and windows, the installation of new floors at first, second and attic levels, significant steelwork, and a new roof structure to match the existing roof. Electrical, plumbing and heating installations as well as plasterwork were also renewed.

Arrangement

A short drive leads past a late 18th-century stable-block before the visitor is confronted with the Tudor-Gothic Victorian building. The main block is built of dark-coloured stone, with a high tower rising above the entrance porch. The lower brick range to the right houses the Chapel of 1805, and behind are the lower buildings of the service courtyard, dating from the 18th century. The interior of Allerton was designed on a vast scale, with late-Gothic decoration in the style of Pugin's work on the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

. The early-Victorian craftsmanship and the recent restoration work are of the highest quality. The galleried great hall is one of the highest baronial halls in England, almost high, lit from a huge lantern which rises from the centre of the main block. It is adorned by intricately carved oak panelling lit by stained glass windows, and has galleried landings whose walls are hung with full-length portraits including works by

Michael Dahl Michael Dahl (1659–1743) was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and s ...

and William Dobson. The hall is central and gives access to the elegant drawing room, the blue-and-white ballroom, and the library with bookcases based on the original designs and restored in the on-site workshop. Most of the original bookcases, together with the books, were destroyed in the fire. The wallpaper was based on one of Pugin's designs for the Houses of Parliament and the ceiling has recently been repainted in the original colours. The principal staircase opens off the great hall, under another vaulted ceiling hung with portraits of the Mowbray and Stourton families. The library and dining room occupy the north side of the Hall. The dining room is panelled and has stained glass windows with the arms of the Mowbray and Stourton families. On the huge table, original to the house, are candelabra dating from 1848. The drawing room has a magnificent plaster ceiling. On the walls are portraits by Michael Dahl and Charles Jervas, and vast

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

mirrors, made for

Melton Constable Hall Melton Constable Hall is a large (Grade I listed) country house in the parish of Melton Constable, Norfolk, England designed in the Christopher Wren style and built between 1664 and 1670 for the Astley family who owned the estate from 1235 until ...

in Norfolk. The ballroom, in the west of the house, was left with bare masonry by Lord Mowbray and Stourton, but Dr Rolph has decorated it with a plaster vaulted ceiling. On the entrance-side of the house are the Billiard Room, the Music Room, housing a collection of late-19th and early-20th century automatic musical instruments, and the Morning Room. On a knoll to the west of the house is the "Temple of Victory", a fine octagonal building of Palladian design.

References

External links

Allerton Castle web site
{{Authority control Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire Royal residences in England Gothic Revival architecture in North Yorkshire Houses completed in 1853 Grade I listed houses Grade I listed castles Country houses in North Yorkshire