A look at the history of Constable Burton Hall, with Dr Emma Wells

Tucked into the quiet folds of Wensleydale, just west of Leyburn, Constable Burton Hall is approached through the small village that shares its name. The site’s origins, however, go back to Domesday as ‘Bertone’ which formed part of the lands granted by William the Conqueror to Count Alan of Brittany, builder of Richmond Castle. The deer park was enclosed in the early 14th century under Edward III, when the 2,500-acre estate belonged to the Scrope family of Bolton and Masham.

In 1517, it passed to Elizabeth Fitzrandall, sister of Geoffrey, Lord Scrope. When the Fitzrandall male line ended, the estate was divided among her daughters, including Agnes Wyvill, whose family has retained ownership ever since. The present Palladian-style house took form under Marmaduke Wyvill. This era first produced an Elizabethan-style mansion supposedly designed by Inigo Jones. Then, after the property passed through generations of the Wyvill baronets, another Sir Marmaduke Wyvill, the 7th Baronet, who had inherited the estate from his uncle, hired John Carr of York from 1760 to 1768 to redesign the house in the fashionable Palladian style. The beautiful square ashlar structure thus became noted for its fine Ionic portico.

When Sir Marmaduke-Asty died without heirs in 1774, the estate passed to Rev. Christopher Wyvill, who expanded it by buying local farms. Further growth came through marriage, notably in 1845 when Laura Ibbetson brought Denton Hall. The family lived there, leasing Constable Burton, whose garden remained modest. The gardens are as important as the house itself. Laid out mainly in the 18th century and refined ever since, they feature sweeping lawns and terraced parterre which now give way to today’s more informal design. In the woodland terraces, mature cedars, including Lebanon and Deodar, shelter acers, magnolias, hostas, ferns and rodgersia. The Stream Garden and Lily Pond add drama with bog arum, bamboo and towering gunnera, creating bold structure, texture and scale.

Unlike many country houses, Constable Burton Hall remains an inhabited home to this day.

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Books by Dr Emma Wells