Bolton Hall is a country house near

Preston-under-Scar Preston-under-Scar is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Leyburn. The village population was 120 at the 2001 census, increasing to 170 by the 2011 census. ...

Richmondshire {{Infobox settlement , name = Richmondshire District , type = District , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_blank_emblem= Richmondshire arms.png , blank_emblem_type = Coat ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England, in Wensleydale, some 3 miles (5 km) west of

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley ...

. It was built in the late 17th century and rebuilt after a fire in 1902. It is a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

, as is an 18th-century

folly tower A folly tower is a tower that has been built as an architectural folly, that is, constructed for ornamental rather than practical reasons. Folly towers are common in Britain and Ireland, and often do have some practical value as landmarks, or as vie ...

in the grounds. It is built in three storeys of roughcast brick with ashlar dressing and a hipped slate roof. The layout is H-shaped with a central block of 5 bays and an overall frontage of 9 bays. In the 1960s the estate covered 12,000 acres, much of it moorland and woodland, and included

Bolton Castle Bolton Castle is a 14th-century castle located in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, England (). The nearby village of Castle Bolton takes its name from the castle. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle was da ...

History

The Bolton estate belonged to the Scrope family since medieval times, based on

. After the death in 1630 of

Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1 August 1584 – 30 May 1630) was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North. Family He was the only child of Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scro ...

and 11th

Baron Scrope of Bolton Baron Scrope of Bolton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created for Sir Richard le Scrope as a barony by writ on 8 January 1371. It became dormant on the death of the 11th Baron (1st Earl of Sunderland) in 1630 without legitimate chi ...

, without any legitimate children, the estate was inherited by

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, the eldest of his three illegitimate daughters. She married Charles, Marquess of Winchester. Bolton Hall was originally built in 1678 for the Marquess, who in 1689 was elevated to be the first

Duke of Bolton Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

by a grateful King William III for his support in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

. It passed down through five succeeding Dukes of Bolton to

Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton Admiral Harry Powlett, 6th Duke of Bolton PC (6 November 1720 – 25 December 1794) was a British nobleman and naval officer. Origins He was the second son of Harry Powlett, 4th Duke of Bolton by his wife Catherine Parry. Career He was educa ...

, an admiral in the Royal Navy. The sixth Duke died without a male heir in 1794 and the dukedom became extinct, the Bolton estates devolving on his brother's natural daughter Jean Browne-Powlett. She married Thomas Orde, who in 1795 assumed the additional surname of Powlett and was a Tory politician. He served as

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

and was ennobled in 1797 as

Baron Bolton Baron Bolton, of Bolton Castle in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1797 for the Tory politician Thomas Orde-Powlett, who had previously served as Chief Secretary for Ireland. Born Thomas Orde, he ...

. In 1902 the hall suffered a serious fire and was afterwards rebuilt. The estate has since passed down to Harry Algar Nigel Orde-Powlett, 8th Baron Bolton, who inherited on his father's death. The current Baron resides at Bolton Hall, which was originally built in 1675. His residence in 2016 was Wensley Hall, Wensley, Leyburn.

is run by his son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Katie Orde-Powlett.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Bolton Hall, Wensley, Bolton Hall
Bolton Estate website
Grade II listed buildings in North Yorkshire Country houses in North Yorkshire Wensleydale

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links