Heslington Hall

Heslington Hall stands near the village of Heslington, within the city of York in North Yorkshire. The present brick building with limestone dressings was largely rebuilt in the 1850s on the site of a 16th-century manor house. Two original staircase towers and the courtyard survive from the earlier house. The hall became part of the University of York when the university opened in 1963. Nikolaus Pevsner noted that most of the interior now visible was designed by York architect Walter Brierley in 1903. The hall has been home to notable families including the Heskeths and the Yarburghs. Sir John Vanbrugh married Henrietta Yarburgh here in 1719. Major Nicholas Yarburgh won the St Leger Stakes in 1839 with his horse Charles the Twelfth. During the Second World War the house served as headquarters for No. 4 Group RAF. In 1955 it was granted Grade II* listed status. Visitors find the hall’s central block and two wings arranged around a courtyard. The gardens include an 18th-century Dutch Topiary garden with yew trees forming a central avenue. The Quiet Place offers an enclosed garden room with a two-storey gazebo and an orangery, opened in 1999 for reading and reflection. The hall now houses university administrative offices while the gardens and Quiet Place remain accessible to the public.