Kirby Knowle Castle

Kirby Knowle Castle stands in the quiet village of Kirby Knowle in North Yorkshire. The first stone castle was built in the late 12th century by Roger Lascelles. It burned down in 1568 and was rebuilt by John Constable in the Elizabethan style. The house included a grand hall, chambers, a chapel, and service rooms such as a kitchen, bakehouse, and brewhouse. Katherine Constable, John’s wife, left detailed records of her possessions, including a porcelain cup meant to guard against poisoning and a couch of cloth of gold. The castle played a part in local history when John Ferne searched it in 1597 and found Catholic recusants hiding inside. Joseph Constable, Katherine’s stepson, was arrested along with others and taken to York Castle. The building had vaults and secret passages above and below ground, including a small closet later called a priest hole in the 19th century. James Danby bought the castle in 1654 and added a new south front and west wing. It was restored in 1875 and again in the 2010s, now containing seven bedrooms, a cinema, games room, gym, and steam room. Visitors see a stone country house with Welsh slate roofs and a mix of architectural styles. The main block has three storeys and four bays, with a five-stage tower at one corner. Mullioned and transomed windows with hood moulds line the walls, and the parapet has semicircular battlements and obelisk finials. A two-storey canted bay on the right has an openwork parapet and a conical roof. The grounds sit within a peaceful North Yorkshire village, offering a view of the castle’s historic stonework and later additions.