Egton Manor is an historic country house near the village of

Egton Bridge Egton Bridge is a village in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies within the North York Moors National Park, on the River Esk, between the villages of Glaisdale and Grosmont, about six miles south-west of Whitby, an ...

, on the banks of the River Esk in the North Yorkshire Moors. The Grade II listed building was built in 1869 by the Foster family, whose descendants still live there today. Egton Manor, which is listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

, lies at the heart of the 6,000 acre Egton Estate.

History

Norman Conquest

The manor of Egton is mentioned in the

; in 1086 it measured four leagues by two leagues, and the "pasturable woodland" three leagues by two leagues.www.british-history.ac.uk
Retrieved 2 November 2020 In 1086 the lord of Egton was Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. Prior to the Conquest the manor was held by Swen. Later, Egton fell into the hands of the Fossard family, the de Turnhams, the de Mauleys, and eventually the Salvins.Laurence, p.30

17th, 18th and 19th centuries

Henry Yelverton, 1st Viscount Longueville

By 1686 the manor was in the possession of Henry Yelverton, Baron Grey of Ruthin (1664-1703/4), who was created the first

Viscount Longueville Viscount Longueville was a title created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Ireland. On 21 April 1690, Henry Yelverton, 15th Baron Grey de Ruthyn was created Viscount Longueville in the Peerage of England. His son the ...

in 1690. Henry's son and heir was

Talbot Yelverton, 1st Earl of Sussex Talbot Yelverton, 1st Earl of Sussex (2 May 169027 October 1731) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Hon. Talbot Yelverton until 1704, and known as Talbot Yelverton, 2nd Viscount Longueville from 1704 to 1717, when he was ...

(1690-1731) who was Lord of the Bedchamber from 1722 to 1727, Knight, Order of the Bath in 1725, Deputy Earl Marshal from 1725 to 1731 and a Privy Counsellor in 1727. The Yelvertons were absentee landlords, making only rare visits to Egton. In 1730 Talbot Yelverton sold Egton Manor for £38,000 to Robert Elwes of

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, who had made a fortune in

goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

ing and gold merchandising; he died in February 1752. From 1730 to 1869 Egton Manor would be owned by the Elwes family. Robert Elwes left the estate to his son Cary Charles Elwes who died in 1782, leaving the estate in turn to his son Robert Cary, father of Cary Charles Elwes, who died in 1866. Cary Charles Elwes was succeeded by his son Valentine Dudley Henry Cary Elwes.

Foster family

In 1869 Valentine Dudley Henry Cary Elwes, the last Elwes owner of Egton, sold the estate to the wealthy mill owner John Foster of

Queensbury, Bradford Queensbury is a large village in the metropolitan borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Perched on a high vantage point above Halifax, Clayton and Thornton and overlooking Bradford itself, Queensbury is one of the highest parishes ...

(1798–1879) who purchased the Egton Estate at auction with his brothers Johnston Jonas Foster (1827-1880), Abraham Briggs Foster (1829-1904), and John Foster the Younger (1833-1910) as a sporting estate.Official history
Retrieved 1 November 2020 The Foster brothers were Anglicans and self-made industrialists, possessors of a textile-generated fortune. At this time Egton Estate comprised 12,480 acres, and was bought for £155,100, a very large sum at the time. The Fosters lived in

Hipperholme Hipperholme is a village in West Yorkshire, England, located between the towns of Halifax and Brighouse in the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 11 ...

, by now a three-hour railway journey to Grosmont railway station. Initially the Fosters lodged at Bridgeholme Green, before beginning construction of Egton Manor House. Egton South Elevation

Egton Manor was built in 1893; the building is of hammered

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

with sandstone ashlar dressings and slate roofs. Over time three of the Foster brothers sold their interest in the estate, leaving the youngest John Foster the sole owner. The Fosters were philanthropic landowners, rebuilding many of the estate's agricultural buildings and providing the community with a new church,

St Hilda's Church, Egton St Hilda's church, Egton, is a Church of England church in Egton, North Yorkshire, built in 1879 and designed by local architect E. H. Smales. St Hilda’s is one of five churches in the United Benefice of Middle Esk Moor. History Norman era The ...

and a new school.

20th century

Egton Manor was enlarged in 1913, with extensions and rebuilding in herringbone-tooled sandstone. On the death of John Foster the estate was inherited by his son Kenneth Foster, and later by his son Simon Foster. On 19 February 1952 Egton Manor became 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 ...

. In 1979 major remodelling and partial demolition took place. Since around 1980 the Estate has been run as a commercial operation.

Egton Manor today

Today Egton Manor lies at the heart of North Yorkshire Moors in an area of outstanding natural beauty, part of the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. It is located approximately six miles from the town of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

. Amenities include shooting and fishing; the estate also hosts weddings and other events. Egton is notable for its wild salmon runs on the River Esk. www.theguardian.com The best places to spot UK wildlife in winter
Retrieved 8 November 2020

Gallery

File:EgtonManorHallway.jpg, Hallway at Egton Manor File:FosterArmsatEgton.jpg, Foster Arms File:CrossedGunsDetail.jpg, Architectural detail File:Egton Estate Llama.png, Llama at Egton Manor

References

External links

Official website
Retrieved 1 November 2020 *Laurence, Alastair, ''Old Egton: A New History'', Whitby Press 2018 {{coord, 54.43563, -0.76050, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title North Yorkshire History of North Yorkshire Houses in North Yorkshire