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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]
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]
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
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^ 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.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) - ^ British Listed Buildings. "Bilton Hall, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "TEWIT WELL, Harrogate (1293847)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Fairfax, William (1875). The visitation of Yorkshire, made in the years 1584/5. London: Privately printed for the editor, Joseph Foster.
- ^ "STOCKDALE, William (1635-93), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ The National Archives. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "STOCKDALE, William (1634/5-1693), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "STOCKDALE (formerly WALTERS), Christopher (c.1665-1713), of Bilton Park, nr. Knaresborough, Yorks. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "BILTON HALL, Knaresborough (1149915)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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^
Bilton Park, Records. <famname>Watson family of Bilton Park, Yorkshire</famname>. 1561–1920.
{{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: others ( link) - ^ Stuff, Good. "Stables Attached to North End of Bilton Hall, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 17 May 2020.