Nunnington Hall

In the medieval period, the land belonged to the wealthy St Mary's Abbey in York. Nunnington takes its name from a nunnery, likely in the present location of Nunnington Hall, which existed prior to the Norman Conquest before being dissolved around 1200. According to the Domesday Book, the manor of Nunnigtune in the 11th century included Stonegrave, Ness, Holme and Wykeham. William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, lord of the manor of Nunnington and brother of queen consort Catherine Parr, built the oldest parts of the surviving house of Nunnington, which now form part of the west front. Following the forfeiture of the estate in 1553 (for his part in setting Lady Jane Grey on the throne),…

Today visitors enter by a modest entrance and porch to the Stone Hall. This west-facing room is in the oldest part of the building and it dates from the sixteenth century. On the walls you can see preserved animal skins as trophies, a collection of arms and armour and also some large brown-wood furniture. This space comprises the National Trust's reception area, and it is lit by two high windows which face a gravelled area to the west. Also on the west wall a modern, (1920s) fireplace, in the style of the sixteenth century. The steps heading to the Dining Room in the south and the archway to a corridor in the east are of the same hand. While this may have been the site of an earlier Great…