Skelton Castle can refer to either a ruined medieval castle or an 18th-century Gothic style country house that replaced it. The site of both buildings is the village of Skelton, in

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. The house is Grade I listed.

Castle

The castle was built of stone by

Robert de Brus Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

in 1140. It had two look-out towers, dungeons, and a moat with a drawbridge and portcullis. In 1265 it was surrendered to King Henry III. In 1272 it went to Walter de Fauconberg and remained in the family for the next 200 years. In 1490 it was inherited by William Conyers, when it was described as ruinous. From him it passed into the Trotter family and then by marriage to the Hall family by the marriage of Joseph Hall to Catherine Trotter. Their son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

inherited and changed his name to Hall-Stevenson after marrying Ann Stevenson. He formed the "Demoniacks" club who met at the ruins of the castle for drinking bouts. His son, Joseph Hall-Stevenson, died within a year of his father and thus Joseph's son John Hall-Stevenson (1766–1843) inherited the castle. In 1788 he changed his name to John Wharton and was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

between 1790 and 1820.

Sidney Lee Sir Sidney Lee (5 December 1859 – 3 March 1926) was an English biographer, writer, and critic. Biography Lee was born Solomon Lazarus Lee in 1859 at 12 Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London. He was educated at the City of London School and at ...

, '' Stevenson, John Hall-'' in ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (1885-1900), vol. 54 He also demolished the castle and replaced it by the current country house between 1770 and 1817.

Country house

The present house is built of dressed sandstone with a roof of Lakeland slate. It is a two-storey block with a 5-bay frontage. It incorporates some remains of the medieval castle. The house was built c.1770 and extended in 1810-1817 by

Ignatius Bonomi Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England. Life He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739–1 ...

. It was constructed between 1788 and 1817 for John Wharton,

for

who had inherited the ruined Skelton Castle from his father Joseph Hall-Stevenson in 1786. John Wharton had changed his name from Hall-Stevenson to Wharton to comply with the terms of a legacy. He inherited a considerable fortune from his aunt, much of which he spent of demolishing the castle and building his new home. He died childless and in poverty in 1843 and Skelton devolved to his nephew John Thomas Wharton of Gilling. The property then descended in the Wharton family to William Henry Anthony Wharton,

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 1925, and on his death in 1938, to his daughter Margaret Winsome Ringrose Wharton. She had married Christopher Hildyard Ringrose, a Royal Navy captain, who had added the additional surname of Wharton to that of Ringrose. She lived there until at least 1986, by which time her relative, Major Wharton, actually ran the estate on account of her age.

References

{{coord, 54.5649, -0.9935, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed buildings in North Yorkshire Country houses in North Yorkshire

Castle

Country house

See also

References