BY ALLISON LEE
Kiplin Hall is an absolute gem standing serenely close to the River Swale in the Vale of Mowbray in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside.
Situated between the historic market towns of Richmond and Northallerton, Kiplin Hall has been owned by four families, related by blood and marriage, and this year celebrates its 400th year of history.
George Calvert built Kiplin Hall in the early 1620s. Showcasing an elegant design in red brick, it is unusual in Jacobean architecture. George was born in 1579 and was raised in a house near to where Kiplin Hall now stands. Despite the fact that his family were Catholic he was brought up as a Protestant following pressure by the Council of the North however, in 1625 he reverted back to Catholicism.
George became Secretary of State to James I and was created the 1st Baron Baltimore in 1625. In 1632 he founded the colony of Maryland in America.
The Crowe family took over residence of Kiplin Hall when, in 1699, Lady Charlotte Lee the granddaughter of Charles II married George Calvert’s great-grandson, the 4th Lord Baltimore. Following their separation and his subsequent death, Lady Charlotte married Christopher Crowe who bought Kiplin Hall in 1722 along with 800 acres from his stepson, the 5th Lord Baltimore for a reported £7000.
Christopher Crowe was the British Consul in Livorno, Italy and he collected paintings and other items from Europe which are on display in Kiplin Hall today. The Crowes made the Hall into a comfortable home, adding the grand staircase, a service wing to the north and increasing the estate to around 4500 acres.
In 1818, a year after Sarah Crowe had married John Delaval Carpenter, 4th Earl of Tyrconnel, she inherited Kiplin Hall and its estate from her father. They added a Gothic-style Drawing Room which is now the Library.
In 1868, Kiplin passed to the Earl’s first cousin twice removed, Captain Walter Talbot (who later became Admiral) son of the 18th Earl of Shrewsbury. Captain Talbot changed his name to Carpenter as a condition of the inheritance. When the Admiral died in 1904, the Hall was filled with fine paintings and furniture, many of which can be seen when visiting the Hall today.
In the 20th Century things began to decline and Sarah, daughter of Admiral Carpenter, sold most of the land and buildings and rented the Hall to tenants. During the Second World War Kiplin was used by the Army and then requisitioned by the R.A.F. as a munitions unit. By 1953 the Hall was virtually derelict and it was threatened with demolition several times throughout the 1960s.
Kiplin Hall’s last owner, Bridget Talbot, Sarah’s cousin, tried many ways to save the Hall. Finally, in 1968 she set up a Charitable Trust. Bridget died three years later. However it wasn’t until the 1990s when the Hall’s future was finally secured by income produced from the quarrying of gravel beds in the parkland. These gravel beds have now formed a beautiful lake which visitors can walk around, taking in the estate’s picturesque gardens and countryside.
In 1998 the Trustees of the Hall undertook restoration work that spanned two years to bring Kiplin Hall back to life, providing a visitor attraction and events venue for both local people and tourists.
Kiplin Hall celebrates its 400th anniversary this year and a special celebratory weekend took place at the end of August where visitors could see the living history encampment, meet King James I and learn about life in the 1600s.
Kipling Hall is open six days a week (closed on Thursdays) and information about what’s on for the coming months can be found by visiting the Kiplin Hall website.
Allison Lee is a smallholder from North Yorkshire who has written for the Yorkshire Times and other publications. Her website can be accessed here.