A look at the history of Thorp Perrow Hall, with Dr Emma Wells

Thorp Perrow Hall, perched just outside of the historic market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire, is much more than a picturesque country house — it is the heart of an estate rich in architectural evolution, landscape design, and horticultural ambition.

The hall itself is an early-18th-century country house, remodelled around 1800, with later work by John Foss and alterations by Walter Brierley. Built of rubble stone with ashlar dressings and a stone-slate roof, it rises to three storeys with an eleven-bay frontage. The central bowed bays feature sash windows and an Ionic portico. Interiors include a Wyatt-style ballroom, an imperial staircase with wrought-iron balusters, and early-18th-century panelling and fireplaces.

Surrounding the Hall is its landscape park and gardens, which reflect the growth of English country estate design from the 18th century onward. Around 1800, ornamental gardens and two lakes were laid out, probably under the direction of Adam Mickle, with terraced lawns cascading toward the water — a landscape that marries naturalistic principles with the controlled beauty expected of grand houses of the period. Specimen trees and topiary near the house accentuate the measured interplay between garden and architecture.

But Thorp Perrow’s story does not end with the Hall’s Georgian and Victorian phases. In the 20th century, Colonel Sir Leonard Ropner (MP and shipping magnate) transformed the wider estate into what is now regarded as one of the country’s finest arboreta, and unique in being the creation of just one person. Beginning in 1931, Ropner systematically planted thousands of trees from across the globe, incorporating the existing 19th-century Milbank Pinetum and ancient Spring Wood, a woodland dating back to the 16th century, into a cohesive botanical landscape. Today, the arboretum encompasses around 100 acres, with over 2,500 species and varieties, including National Plant Collections and many champion trees. It remains a living testament to horticultural vision and careful planning.

While the Hall remains a private residence, the estate’s gardens, lakes, woodland, and arboretum are open to the public on a seasonal basis.

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