Newby Hall and Gardens
OS grid reference:- SE 352 674
Newby Hall is situated on the banks of the River Ure, south west of the village of Skelton-on-Ure, near Boroughbridge. It is the family home of Richard and Lucinda Compton and is one of England's renowned Adam houses and an exceptional example of Georgian interior decoration.
The house was built in the 1690s under the guidance of Sir Christopher Wren. In the decade of 1760s William Weddell, an MP for Malton and an ancestor of the Comptons, purchased a superb collection of ancient Roman sculpture and Gobelins tapestries while on tour in Italy. He commissioned Robert Adam to alter and enlarge the original house, which contains much fine furniture by Thomas Chippendale.
The gardens, which cover 25 acres are magnificent and contain many rare plants, including the National Collection of Cornus (dogwoods). At either side of the famous double herbaceous borders there are formal gardens such as the Autumn and Rose Garden, the tranquil Sylvia's Garden and a Tropical Garden. In addition to to this there is a children's adventure garden with a fort and water play features, a miniature railway, a woodland discovery walk and a contemporary sculpture park.
Historic Buildings of Yorkshire