Bilton Hall (North Yorkshire)

Bilton Hall is a Grade II listed large country house near Harrogate, North Yorkshire. It was historically the home of the prominent Stockdale family, of which three Knaresborough MPs were members.[1]

Bilton Hall
Former namesBilton Park
General information
StatusGrade II Listed
Architectural styleTudor-Jacobean
AddressBilton Hall Drive, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 4DW
OwnerSlingsby Family (formerly)

Stockdale Family (formerly)

Watson Family (formerly)

History and ownership

There has been a building on the site of Bilton Hall since the 14th Century. The first structure sat within a newly created park to form a hunting lodge for the Slingsby family.[2] Perhaps the best known member of the family was William Slingsby, who is credited as the discoverer of the first spa water well in Harrogate.[3]

Christopher Stockdale of Bilton Hall

In 1631 it was acquired by Thomas Stockdale, son of William Stockdale of Green Hammerton, whose family had been significant Yorkshire landowners since the reign of Henry VI.[4][5] Thomas Stockdale went on to represent Knaresborough in Parliament from 1645 until 1653.[6] His son, William Stockdale took his fathers seat in Parliament, serving as member for Knaresborough from 1660 until his death in 1693.[7] The Bilton estate then passed to his nephew Christopher Stockdale, who in turn became MP for Knaresborough in April 1693 holding the seat until his own death 1713.[8] Christopher's heir, William Stockdale, inherited Bilton Hall upon his fathers demise. Like many hundreds in the country at the time, William had over-invested in the notorious South Sea Company and lost a great fortune when the shares crashed in 1721.[9] The earliest of the surviving elements of the current structure date back to the Stockdale period of ownership.[10]

In 1742 Bilton was acquired from the Stockdale family by John Watson of Malton. The Watsons carried out a program of refurbishment on the hall and constructed the present stable and coach house.[11]

References
  1. Hargrove, Ely, 1742-1818. (1798). The history of the castle, town, and forest of Knaresborough, with Harrogate, and its medicinal waters. Including an account of the most remarkable places in the neighbourhood: the curious remains of antiquity; elegant buildings; ornamented grounds; & other singular productions of nature and art ... Printed by Wilson, Spence, and Mawman. OCLC 54174668.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. British Listed Buildings. "Bilton Hall, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  3. Historic England. "TEWIT WELL, Harrogate (1293847)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  4. Fairfax, William (1875). The visitation of Yorkshire, made in the years 1584/5. London: Privately printed for the editor, Joseph Foster.
  5. "STOCKDALE, William (1635-93), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  6. The National Archives. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  7. "STOCKDALE, William (1634/5-1693), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  8. "STOCKDALE (formerly WALTERS), Christopher (c.1665-1713), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  9. Historic England. "BILTON HALL, Knaresborough (1149915)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  10. Bilton Park, Records. <famname>Watson family of Bilton Park, Yorkshire</famname>. 1561–1920.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. Stuff, Good. "Stables Attached to North End of Bilton Hall, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-17.

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