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Nun Appleton Priory was a priory near
Appleton Roebuck Appleton Roebuck is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 692 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 792 in the 2011 census and including Acaster Selby. The village is about ...
,
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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It was founded as a nunnery c. 1150, by Eustace de Merch and his wife. It was dissolved by 1539, when the nuns were receiving pensions.


Nun Appleton Hall

Subsequently Nun Appleton was the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
country estate of the Fairfax family. The hall itself is built of reddish-orange brick with ashlar dressings and a Welsh slate roof in three storeys to a rectangular floor plan. It is grade II listed and now stands in some 200 ha. of parkland. The estate was acquired by The 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron, a
Yorkshireman Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
with a
Scottish peerage The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...
, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, from whom it descended to The 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the well-known English Civil War commander, who built the present hall in the late 1600s. In his time (c.1651) the estate was the inspiration for
Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...
's ''
Upon Appleton House "Upon Appleton House" is a poem written by Andrew Marvell for Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron. It was written in 1651, when Marvell was working as a tutor for Fairfax's daughter, Mary. An example of a country house poem, "Upon Appleton ...
'', a significant
country house poem A country house poem is a poem in which the author compliments a wealthy patron or a friend through a description of his country house. Such poems were popular in early 17th-century England. The genre may be seen as a sub-set of the topographical po ...
. Marvell was tutor to Thomas Fairfax's daughter, Mary. After the death of Mary (who had married The 2nd Duke of Buckingham) in 1704 the estate was eventually sold c.1711 to Alderman William Milner of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
who carried out many alterations to the house. His son William was created the '' 1st Milner Baronet, of Nun Appleton Hall in the County of York'', in 1717 and was later Member of Parliament for York. The estate then descended in the Milner family until 1875, when the estate's owner, Sir William Mordaunt Milner, 6th Baronet, was more interested in gambling than looking after it. By 1877 it had been leased to
William Beckett-Denison William Beckett-Denison (10 September 1826 – 23 November 1890) was an English banker and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in two periods between 187 ...
, a wealthy Leeds banker. After the death of Sir William Milner in Cairo in 1881, his brother
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...
inherited the estate and in 1882 married Adeline, eldest daughter of William Beckett-Denison. After William Beckett's gruesome death in 1890, the Hall and estate were sold to Angus Holden, a sometime M.P. (later created
Baron Holden Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
), a woollen manufacturer from
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, whose ownership was somewhat brief as he died in 1912. The hall was now empty and many of the tenanted farms were sold. The estate was put up for auction in 1914 and again in 1917 and eventually acquired by a private company which felled many of the trees but by 1919 had gone into liquidation. It was bought in 1920 by
Sir Benjamin Dawson, 1st Baronet Sir Benjamin Dawson, 1st Baronet (26 September 1878 – 25 September 1966) was a British textile manufacturer. He was the son of a textile manufacturer Joseph Dawson of Bradford, West Yorkshire and was educated at Bradford Grammar School. At 15 ...
, another Bradford textile manufacturer, who was
High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere ...
for 1951–52. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
the hall was taken over by the London Maternity Hospital. When the stable block accidentally burnt down it was afterwards refurbished as a theatre and made available to the local community. The property was bought from the last occupant, Sir Benjamin's daughter Joan Dawson, for £1.2 million in the 1980s by Humphrey Smith of the Samuel Smith brewing family. The house is now fenced off, empty, unused and deteriorating. Nun Appleton Priory played an important part in the career of the young composer
William Baines William Baines (26 March 1899 – 6 November 1922) was an English pianist and composer who wrote more than 150 works for solo piano and a number of larger orchestral works before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23. Life Born in Ho ...
(1899-1922). He was befriended by the Dawsons in 1921, and was inspired by the house and its grounds to write many of his "nature" pieces for piano, including ''Twilight Woods'' and ''Glancing Sunlight.''


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* {{Coord, 53, 51, 09, N, 1, 09, 22, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in North Yorkshire Country houses in North Yorkshire Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire Monasteries in North Yorkshire Fairfax family residences 1150s establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1539 disestablishments in England Grade II listed monasteries