What to see

Abbeys and Churches

Historic Churches in North Yorkshire

Yorkshire is well known for its magnificent ecclesiastical buildings. From York Minster, the largest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps, to Whitby Abbey, where the Synod of Whitby took place in 664 AD, its abbeys, cathedrals, minsters and priories mark it out as a place of great spiritual significance.

www.yorkshirechurches.com

 

Rievaulx Abbey, Rievaulx

These Cistercian monastic ruins still convey the Abbey’s former splendour. ‘Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvellous freedom from the tumult of the world.’ Those words, written over eight centuries ago by the monastery’s third Abbot, St Aelred, could describe Rievaulx today, for it is one of the most atmospheric of all the ruined abbeys of the North.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Byland Abbey, Byland

This beautiful ruin, set in the shadow of the Hambleton Hills, was once one of the great northern monasteries. An outstanding example of early Gothic architecture, its splendid tiles testify to its earlier magnificence.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Kirkham Priory, Kirkham

This Augustinian priory was later used to test the D-Day landing vehicles. Kirkham Priory is a jewel hidden away on the banks of the River Derwent in the Howardian Hills. Just a few miles from its majestic neighbour, Castle Howard, the Priory is set in an area of outstanding beauty and weaves an enchanting atmosphere of peaceful retreat.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Aldborough Roman Site, Aldborough

The principal town of the Brigantes, whose earlier tribal stronghold can be seen at Stanwick. The remains include parts of the Roman defences and two spectacular mosaic pavements. The on-site museum displays local Roman finds.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

York Minster, York

From Roman times to the present day the site on which York Minster stands has been at the very centre of England 's religious and political life.

www.yorkminster.org

 

 

Castles

Pickering Castle

A splendid motte-and-bailey castle. It is well-preserved with much of the original walls, towers and keep remaining. There is also an exhibition in the chapel.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Helmsley Castle

With its twelfth-century keep, Tudor mansion and spectacular earthworks cut from solid rock, Helmsley Castle offers an exploration of changing social habits and military needs from medieval times to the twentieth century.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Clifford’s Tower, York

This tower was once the central stronghold of York Castle but it has much older, more turbulent origins. When William the Conqueror seized the throne in 1066, he was eager to subdue the north. His concern was well founded: the northerners rebelled in 1069. William’s violent reprisal, known as the ‘Harrying of the North’, marked the end of English resistance.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

Scarborough Castle, Scarborough

Dominating the skyline high on the clifftops, this dramatic 12th-century castle commands spectacular views of the rugged Yorkshire coastline and seaside town of Scarborough. For more than 2,500 years, the defensive prominence of the castle's dramatic headland location has attracted attention, including Bronze Age settlers, and the Roman army who established a signal station here.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

 

Forests & Moors

North Yorkshire Moors

The North York Moors is a very special place. The great variety of landscapes within a small area is what truly makes it unique and gives it a character, which so many people can enjoy.

www.moors.uk.net

 

Dalby Forest, Thornton-Le-dale

Dalby Forest is situated on the southern slopes of the North York Moors National Park . The southern part of the forest is divided by a number of valleys creating a 'Rigg and Dale' landscape whilst to the north the forest sits on the upland plateau.

www.forestry.gov.uk/dalbyforest

 

 

Museums & Galleries

Eden Camp, Malton

A visit to our unique Museum at EDEN CAMP will transport you back in time to wartime Britain . You will experience the sights, sounds, even the smells of those dangerous years.

www.edencamp.co.uk

 

Beck Isle Museum, Pickering

The Beck Isle Museum is housed in a handsome Regency residence near the centre of Pickering , adjacent to the Pickering Beck, a stream that flows under a four arched road bridge. One arch of this bridge (originally much narrower) is reputedly of mediaeval origin.

www.beckislemuseum.co.uk

 

Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton Le Hole

Welcome to Yorkshire 's leading open air museum. There are 13 historic buildings showing the lives of ordinary folk from earliest times to the present day. The Museum lies in the heart of the North York Moors.

www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk

 

Malton Museum, Malton

Malton Museum is Ryedale's major archaeological museum and is located in the heart of Malton's Market Place. The renowned Roman Collections are imaginatively displayed. Explore the objects and evidence displayed from local excavations, marvel at the products of the potteries Norton and Crambeck and admire the elegance of the villa at Langton.

www.ryedale.co.uk/ryedale/social/maltonmuseum/maltonmuseum

 

Archaeological Resource Centre, York

A fun-filled visit to the ARC will turn you and your family or group into archaeological detectives. Get your hands on real history and find out how archaeologists use clues to piece together York's past. You'll be amazed what you can find by digging in the dirt!

www.vikingjorvik.com

 

Jorvick Museum, York

Get face-to-face with the Vikings on the very site where archaeologists discovered the remains of the place they once called home. Discover what life was really like over 1000 years ago, meet our Viking residents, see over 800 items uncovered here, and journey through a reconstruction of actual Viking-Age streets.

www.vikingjorvik.com

 

Yorkshire Museum & Gardens, York

Walk in the footsteps of Romans and Vikings. See beasts turned to stone from a time when dinosaurs ruled the planet. Discover the jewels of Kings and the spoils of war. Welcome to Yorkshire Museum, one of England’s first and finest.

www.york.yorkshire.museum

 

York Castle Museum, York

Experience life as a Victorian. Walk down cobbled streets and peer through windows of shops long gone. Take a journey through four hundred years of life in Britain , from parlours to prisons, marriages to the mill house. Discover a city at war and stumble into an underworld of highwaymen. Welcome to the award winning York Castle Museum , the original story of everyday life.

www.york.castle.museum

 

York Art Gallery, York

Take your own grand tour. Experience the world through oil and canvas, watercolours and ceramics. Wander through galleries and discover six hundred years of British and European art, from the time of the Wars of the Roses right up to the present day. Welcome to the free York Art Gallery.

www.york.art.museum

 

National Railway Museum, York

The National Railway Museum in York , England is the largest railway museum in the world, responsible for the conservation and interpretation of the British national collection of historically significant railway vehicles and other artefacts. The Museum contains an unrivalled collection of locomotives, rolling stock, railway equipment, documents and records.

www.nrm.org.uk

 

Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington

A fascinating and dynamic museum, authentically based on a World War Two Bomber Command Station. The unique displays include the original Control Tower, Air Gunners' Collection, Barnes Wallis' prototype 'bouncing bomb' and a superb new Airborne Forces Display. Our rapidly expanding collection of historical aircraft depicts aviation from its earliest days, to World War Two with the awesome and unique Halifax rebuild through to post war jets.

www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

 

The World of James Herriot Museum, Thirsk

The world of James Herriot is a unique tribute to the vet and author Alf Wight. Situated in his original surgery at 23 Kirkgate, Thirsk, North Yorkshire - The 'Skeldale House' of the books.

www.herriotdaysout.com

 

Thirsk Museum, Thirsk

Here, in the house where Thomas Lord, founder of Lord’s Cricket Ground, was born in 1755, you’ll find eight rooms full of local history, including the infamous Busby Stoop Chair. We also provide a wide range of services, particularly for schools, and there’s a thriving Museum Society too.

www.thirskmuseum.org

 

Lifeboat Museum, Scarborough

Scarborough Lifeboat station is the third oldest station. We were founded in March 1801

www.scarboroughlifeboat.org.uk

 

Yorkst.mary’s Museum

This wonderful 14th Century Church building in the centre of York is the home of York Museum Trust’s changing exhibition program.

www.stmarys.york.museum

 

 

Stately Homes and Houses

Duncombe Park

Delightful home of Lord and Lady Feversham. Unoccupied by the family for over 60 years. Now fully restored as a family home. Your memorable day in the country includes a detailed guided tour of the house coupled with breathtaking views from the magnificent broadwalks within the eighteenth century green garden.

www.duncombepark.com

 

Nunnington Hall

The sheltered walled garden on the bank of the River Rye, with its delightful mixed borders, orchards of traditional fruit varieties and spring-flowering meadows, complements this mellow 17th-century manor house. From the magnificent oak-panelled hall, follow three staircases to discover family rooms, the nursery, the haunted room and the attics, with their fascinating Carlisle collection of miniature rooms fully furnished to reflect different periods.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scripts/nthandbook.dll?ACTION=PROPERTY&PROPERTYID=334

 

Castle Howard

Castle Howard is one of Britain's finest stately homes, located in the beautiful Howardian Hills, fifteen miles northeast of the famous city of York.Built in 1699, Castle Howard is, today, still the private home of the Howard family. As a major tourist attraction the house receives hundreds of thousands of visitors annually from all over the world, who come to enjoy a variety of delights.

www.castlehoward.co.uk

 

Hovingham Hall

For over 400 years Hovingham has been the home of the Worsley family. The Palladian house was built between 1750 and 1770 by Thomas Worsley to his own design and is unique being entered through The Riding School.

http://www.hovingham.co.uk/pages/home.html

 

Fairfax House

Fairfax House is perhaps the finest 18th century house in the North of England. It was designed by John Carr of York , and typifies the best of mid-18th-century rococo decoration. Sadly, successive owners had allowed the house to decay to a state of near collapse by the early 1980s, when the York Civic Trust acquired it with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk

 

Beningbrough Hall & Gardens

York ’s ‘country house and garden’, this imposing Georgian mansion was built in 1716 and contains one of the most impressive baroque interiors in England . Exceptional wood carving, an unusual central corridor running the full length of the house and over 100 pictures on loan from the National Portrait Gallery can be found inside.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scripts/nthandbook.dll?ACTION=PROPERTY&PROPERTYID=329

 

Shandy Hall, Coxwold

Laurence Sterne lived in Shandy Hall, Coxwold from 1760 until 1768. Whilst living here there he wrote 'Tristram Shandy' and 'A Sentimental Journey'. Sterne had been vicar of Sutton-on-the-Forest since 1738 and he lived for a time in Minster Yard, York. He died of tuberculosis in 1768.

www.ytb.org.uk/

Newburgh Priory, Coxwold

Newburgh Priory, a large and imposing house, stands on the site of an Augustinian priory, founded in 1145. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the property was acquired in 1541 by Anthony Belassis, one of Henry VIII's chaplains. He converted the priory into a Tudor mansion and today there are no signs of the original monastic buildings and church.

www.touruk.co.uk/houses/houseyorkshire_newburgh.htm

 

Sutton Park Stately Home & Gardens, Sutton-on-the Forest

Sutton Park is a charming and lived-in house, built of mellow brick in 1730 by Thomas Atkinson. The House contains beautiful eighteenth century furniture, paintings mostly from Buckingham House, now Buckingham Palace, and an important collection of porcelain. Magnificent plaster work by Cortese.

www.statelyhome.co.uk

 

Sledmere House

Sledmere House is the home of Sir Tatton Sykes, 8th Baronet. There has been a Manor House at Sledmere since medieval times.The present house was begun in 1751 by Richard Sykes and extended in the 1790's by Sir Christopher Sykes 2nd Baronet

 

The Treasurer’s House, York

Named after the Treasurer of York Minster and built over a Roman road, the house is not all that it seems. Nestled behind the Minster, the size, splendour and contents of this elegant house are a constant surprise to visitors – as are the famous ghost stories. Carefully restored and presented with 16th- and 20th-century decoration, furniture, china and glass by wealthy local Victorian industrialist Frank Green. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/scripts/nthandbook.dll?ACTION=PROPERTY&PROPERTYID=336

 

 

Gardens

Burnby Hall Gardens

National Collection of Water Lilies (Nymphaea). These delightful Gardens, close to the centre of Pocklington (a thriving market town in the County of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England), are home to the National Collection of Hardy Water Lilies - the biggest such collection to be found in a natural setting in Europe.

www.burnbyhallgardens.co.uk

 

Walled Garden at Scampston

The Walled Garden is new for 2004. Having completed the restoration of the house it became clear that the Walled Garden was important to the setting and should not be allowed to remain derelict and neglected.

www.scampston.co.uk

 

Wolds Way Lavender, Winteringham

Our dream is to create a Lavender and Herb Farm that people can walk round and enjoy the vast variety of plants that are growing on the site. We also intend to distil the oil producing plants to extract their essential oils.

www.deerparkfarm.com

 

Yorkshire Lavender, Terrington

Probably Europe 's most northerly lavender farm, YORKSHIRE LAVENDER lies on the outskirts of the picturesque village of Terrington , set in the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

www.yorkshirelavender.com

 

 

Medieval Villages

Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village, Wharram Percy

One of about 3,000 villages abandoned between the eleventh and eighteenth centuries, the foundations of more than 30 medieval peasant houses are visible at this site. Excavation revealed evidence of Stone Age occupation, and of a settlement dating back to the Bronze Age, with Roman farms and an Anglo-Saxon estate.

www.english-heritage.org.uk/yorkshire

 

 

Breweries

The Cropton Brewery

Beer has been brewed in Cropton since 1613. The early brews were illegal, and any wrong do-ers were sent to York Goal. It's likely that the local women helped in the production of the earlier beers, and the 'Ale Wives' as they were known, were often cursed if they produced a bad brew.

www.croptonbrewery.co.uk

 

Brewery Tour, York

Established in 1996 within the City Walls, York Brewery is both a tourist attraction and a working brewery, providing customers locally and around the country with the first traditionally brewed ales from within the walls of York for over 40 years.

www.yorkbrew.demon.co.uk