With its beautiful national parks, stunning coastline and plethora of historic market towns and quaint rural villages, North Yorkshire offers an abundance of wonderful places to visit!
Did you know that North Yorkshire is home to numerous castles, country houses and grand stately homes that are open to the public? Each of them boasts a fascinating past and offers a wonderful insight into the lives of the more affluent former residents of this magnificent part of our county. Wander through acres of sculpted gardens, marvel at opulent ceilings and centuries-old furnishings, and discover more about how former members of high society in Yorkshire lived, holidayed and entertained.
Updated for 2026, here are some of the most beautiful stately homes in North Yorkshire to add to your visiting list!
Castle Howard
Castle Howard, York YO60 7DA Open daily March to November. Check website for Christmas openings.
Castle Howard near York is one of the finest and most visited stately homes in North Yorkshire and one of the best family-friendly attractions in Yorkshire! Situated just 15 miles north of York, it has been home to the Howard family for over 300 years. This magnificent 18th-century house is set in 1,000 acres of beautiful parkland and has been used in film and television many times, most famously as the setting for Brideshead Revisited and, more recently, Bridgerton. Join a guided tour for a more informative experience or explore the house and gardens at your leisure to marvel at the unique architecture and extensive collections of remarkable treasures. The illustrated trail for children is brilliant, the events programme throughout the year is superb, and the transformation that takes place at Castle Howard over Christmas is truly magical!
Newby Hall and Gardens
Newby Hall, Ripon HG4 5AJ Open 28th March to 27th September 2026
You’ll find Newby Hall beside the River Ure at Skelton-on-Ure near Ripon, and it is quite simply one of the best stately homes in North Yorkshire for a family day out! This magnificent Grade I listed building is one of Britain’s finest Adam Houses, built in the 1690s and later adapted by Robert Adam, with one of the most exceptional examples of 18th-century interior decoration you’ll find anywhere in England. The award-winning gardens are equally outstanding, and the double herbaceous borders stretching down to the river are considered among the finest in the country. For the little ones, there’s a miniature railway, a brilliant adventure playground and a wonderful Dolls House Museum. In 2026, Newby Hall was awarded a gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for their first-ever exhibit! Book online for 10% off admission.
Beningbrough Hall, Gallery and Gardens
Beningbrough, York YO30 1DD Open seasonally. Check National Trust website for 2026 dates.
National Trust, Beningbrough Hall is a large Georgian mansion overlooking the River Ouse, built in the 18th century and home to a superb collection of over 100 portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. Explore the beautifully restored state rooms, wander the innovative themed gardens and walled kitchen garden, and let the children loose in the excellent wilderness play area – it really is one of the best in any National Trust property we’ve visited! Beningbrough also featured in the hit television series Victoria, which makes it all the more exciting to walk around. Free for National Trust members.
Visit Beningbrough Hall website
Nunnington Hall
Nunnington, North Yorkshire YO62 5UY Open seasonally. Check National Trust website for 2026 dates.
National Trust’s Nunnington Hall is a picturesque Yorkshire manor house on the banks of the River Rye. Although recorded as a dwelling from 1219, the house you see today was built around a Tudor Great Hall, which you’ll find at the heart of the building. The property boasts a pretty walled garden, a natural play area with garden games and a wonderfully dog-friendly tea garden. In addition to the fascinating period rooms, you’ll also find one of the finest collections of miniature rooms in existence. Each one is a painstakingly detailed recreation of a historic domestic interior at one-twelfth scale, and they are absolutely captivating for adults and children alike! Free for National Trust members.
Kiplin Hall and Gardens
Kiplin Hall, Richmond, North Yorkshire DL10 6AT Open 6th February to 26th November 2026, six days a week, closed Thursdays
A Grade I listed building with a history spanning more than 400 years, Kiplin Hall near Richmond offers a wonderful day out! Built from 1619 for George Calvert, the founder of the state of Maryland in America, it boasts beautiful walled gardens and scenic walks in the surrounding woodland. Join one of the guided tours, and you’ll learn all about the founding of Maryland as well as the history of the four families who have owned Kiplin Hall for over four centuries. The recently added zip-wire and natural play area make it great for children too, and the snowdrop walks in February are absolutely gorgeous. One of the earliest stately homes to open in the county each year, welcoming visitors from 6th February!
Duncombe Park
Helmsley, North Yorkshire YO62 5EB Open May to October, Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 5:30pm
Set in 300 acres of glorious parkland on the edge of Helmsley, Duncombe Park is one of North Yorkshire’s most elegant and underrated stately homes! The original baroque mansion was built in 1713, and you can explore it on guided tours during the season, but it’s the gardens that really steal the show. The famous serpentine grass terrace is considered one of the finest in England, sweeping along the escarpment above the River Rye with breathtaking views across the valley. At each end stands a classical temple, with the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey visible in the distance on a clear day – utterly spectacular. The nearby Helmsley Walled Garden makes this a brilliant full day out.
Hovingham Hall
Hovingham, York YO62 4LU Open for guided tours on selected summer days. Check website for 2026 dates.
Hovingham Hall in the pretty village of Hovingham is one of the most unique and charming stately homes in North Yorkshire! This elegant Palladian mansion was designed and built by Thomas Worsley around 1760 and is unlike any other house in England – it is entered via a vast riding school rather than a conventional entrance hall, which is quite the surprise. The Worsley family have lived here ever since, and Hovingham Hall was the childhood home of Katharine Worsley, who became the Duchess of Kent on her marriage in 1961. Tours are led by the Worsley family themselves, which gives the whole experience a wonderfully personal quality. The walled gardens are beautiful, and the village of Hovingham is one of the prettiest in the Howardian Hills.
Norton Conyers
Wath, Near Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 5EQ Garden open from April. House open on selected days. Check website for 2026 dates.
Norton Conyers near Ripon has a story so extraordinary you almost can’t believe it’s true! This beautiful Jacobean manor house is widely believed to have inspired Thornfield Hall in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Brontë visited Norton Conyers in 1839 and discovered the legend of a woman once confined in the attic – the rest, as they say, is literary history. The house has been home to the Graham family for over 350 years and the romantic 2.5-acre 18th-century walled garden, described as a rare survival of a Paradise Garden, is an absolute delight. The historic stables, which recently featured in All Creatures Great and Small, add another brilliant reason to visit. Free for Historic Houses members.
Sutton Park
Sutton-on-the-Forest, York YO61 1DP House open for guided tours 2nd to 4th May and 1st to 31st August 2026. Miss Daisy’s Tearooms open Wednesday to Sunday year-round.
Approximately 10 miles from York on the edge of Sutton-on-the-Forest, you’ll find this 18th-century Georgian country house. Built by Thomas Atkinson for Phillip Harland, Sutton Park is now home to Sir Reginald and Lady Sheffield and is registered with Screen Yorkshire – you may recognise it from the BBC Drama Gentleman Jack! This Grade I listed building features stunning Rococo plasterwork and is home to beautiful collections of art and porcelain, some of which came from Buckingham House, known today as Buckingham Palace. Guided house tours are available on selected dates in May and August, priced at £20 per person and bookable in advance. Miss Daisy’s Tearooms are a lovely reason to visit even outside the house opening dates!
Parcevall Hall Gardens
Skyreholme, Skipton BD23 6DE Open daily from 27th March 2026, 10am to 4:30pm last entry
Located near the pretty village of Appletreewick in Wharfedale, Parcevall Hall Gardens are the largest gardens open to the public in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and one of Yorkshire’s finest hidden treasures! A project to rebuild a derelict 16th and 17th-century hall was taken on in 1927 by Sir William Milner, who developed the surrounding moorland into 24 acres of glorious formal and woodland gardens. The spectacular views of Simon’s Seat and Wharfedale from the terraced gardens are breathtaking, and the rock garden, rose garden, camellia walk and woodland trails all offer something wonderful throughout the season. The hall itself is used as a retreat centre and is not open to visitors, but the tea room at the entrance is well worth a stop! A real hidden gem. Open daily from 27th March 2026.
Visit Parcevall Hall Gardens website
Sewerby Hall and Gardens
Church Lane, Sewerby, Bridlington YO15 1EA House open Easter to September. Gardens and zoo open year-round. Check website for 2026 prices.
Just 2 miles from Bridlington and set in 50 acres of landscaped gardens, Sewerby Hall is a brilliant day out for the whole family! This Grade I listed Georgian house, built between 1714 and 1720, now looks precisely as it would have done in 1910 thanks to a wonderful restoration, and houses a fascinating collection of memorabilia once owned by the famous local aviator Amy Johnson alongside a regularly changing exhibition programme. The grounds include a walled garden, rose garden and pleasure gardens with spectacular monkey puzzle trees, and best of all, there’s a zoo! Penguins, pygmy goats, lemurs and plenty more await, with daily keeper talks and feeding sessions. One admission price covers the lot, and it’s outstanding value for a family day out.
Scampston Hall and Walled Garden
Scampston, Malton YO17 8NG Gardens open 1st April to 1st November 2026, Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays
Home to Christopher and Miranda Legard, Scampston Hall is one of the finest Regency country houses in North Yorkshire. First built around 1700 and remodelled in 1795 by Thomas Leverton, the house has been lovingly restored by the Legards and, as it is their family home, is completely free of ropes and barriers. Guided hall tours are available during the summer months with a wonderfully personal and informal feel – you can ask questions and get up close to everything, which is a real rarity at historic houses. The award-winning Walled Garden, designed by the renowned Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf, is quite unlike any other garden in Yorkshire and an absolute must-see, with bold contemporary perennial planting set within 18th-century walls alongside Capability Brown parkland. Adults £12.50, children £6.50 for the gardens.
Markenfield Hall
Near Ripon, North Yorkshire HG4 3AD Open Monday and Tuesday only, May to mid-June
For something completely unlike any other stately home on this list, Markenfield Hall near Ripon is one of the most remarkable medieval survivals in England and an absolute must for history lovers! Approached along a private farm track across open fields and surrounded by a broad moat, this extraordinary fortified manor house dates back to 1310 and is one of the best-preserved medieval houses in the country. The guided tours take in the medieval great hall, the chapel and the private family rooms, all in a state of remarkable preservation. The short opening season – Monday and Tuesday only from May to mid-June – makes a visit feel like a real privilege, and the wonderfully uncommercialized atmosphere is completely unlike anywhere else in Yorkshire. Booking ahead is strongly recommended.
Visit Markenfield Hall website
As with all our articles of this nature, we’ll be adding to this list as and when we discover or are introduced to other properties. To make a recommendation or discuss advertising options, please email business@theyorkshirepress.co.uk
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