A look at the history of Danby Hall, Thorton Steward, with Dr Emma Wells

Danby Hall is one of North Yorkshire's most remarkable yet little-known historic houses. Home to the Le Scrope family who have been rooted in Yorkshire since the early 12th century, having arrived as a Norman family before the Conquest, their prominence in northern England made them familiar figures in history and literature, appearing in several of Shakespeare's plays, where Tudor dramatists portrayed the powerful Plantagenet loyalists in an unfavourable light. The family has owned Danby in Wensleydale near Middleham since the late 16th century, when Henry Scrope acquired the estate through his marriage to the heiress of Simon Conyers.

Parts of the Hall date back to the 14th century, including its compact pele tower, the southernmost example of this fortified border structure. Built to withstand raids during turbulent times with the Scots, the tower remains a striking reminder of the region's medieval past. The house was extensively remodelled in 1658 by Simon Scrope I, whose initials and the date still appear in the pierced parapet that crowns the building.

Danby Hall also preserves vivid reminders of England's religious and political upheavals. Hidden within the house is, allegedly, one of two priest holes, concealed in a chimney to shelter Catholic clergy during the years of persecution. Beneath the drawing room floor lie the graves of seven priests, testament to the family's steadfast recusant faith. Another notable portrait depicts Colonel Adrian Scrope, the Parliamentarian general and regicide who signed the death warrant of Charles I before being executed after the Restoration.

The Hall assumed much of its present appearance in 1855, when York architect Joseph Hansom redesigned the elegant south front. Best remembered as the inventor of the Hansom cab—the Victorian equivalent of a taxi—Hansom combined classical symmetry with Victorian refinement, creating the ashlar façade, canted bay and octagonal turrets that overlook sweeping parkland. Inside, visitors find a magnificent 17th-century oak staircase, richly panelled reception rooms and heraldic stained glass celebrating generations of the Scrope family.

Still occupied by the Le Scrope family today, Danby Hall remains a living monument to nearly nine centuries of Yorkshire history, set within a landscape that has changed remarkably little over that time.

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