Thoresby Hall

Thoresby Hall is a 19th-century country house set in a landscaped park in Budby, Nottinghamshire. It stands four storeys high with a square plan around a central courtyard. The house is built of rock-faced ashlar with ashlar dressings and measures 55 metres on its east and south fronts. It replaced an earlier 18th-century house designed by John Carr after a fire in 1746. The present building was commissioned by Sydney Pierrepont, 3rd Earl Manvers, and completed in 1871 by Anthony Salvin. The Great Hall inside is 19 metres long and 14 metres high, with a minstrels’ gallery at one end. The house has strong links to the Pierrepont family, who owned the estate for centuries. Lady Mary Pierrepont, later Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, was born here in 1689. Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston, fought at Culloden and rebuilt the house after the fire. Humphry Repton landscaped the park in the 18th century. The 6th Earl Manvers left the house in 1955 without a male heir, and it passed through several owners before becoming a hotel. Visitors find a country house hotel with 200 rooms and spa facilities. The courtyard now holds a cafe and gift shops open to the public. The Royal Lancers and Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum occupies part of the courtyard, which is accessible as a retail space. The surrounding park is open to visitors and offers a peaceful setting. The house’s architecture and history remain the main attraction.