Middlethorpe Hall

The house was built in For most of the 19th and early 20th century, the house remained in the Wilkinson family but was let to various tenants. From 1851 it was occupied by a girls' boarding school for 30 years. In 1972, it became "Brummels" night club. In 1980, it was acquired by Historic House Hotels, who improved and restored the grounds and outbuildings with hundreds of trees planted and the addition of a ha-ha and lake. A dilapidated late 17th-century dovecote was restored, the kitchen garden was replanted, and stable buildings were converted and extended for additional hotel accommodation. The hall and grounds were then gifted to the National Trust by the directors of Historic House…

The house is quite close to the road which is unusual for its architectural standard. Like many grand houses of the time, it is influenced indirectly by Sir Christopher Wren, especially Hampton Court Palace with a similar horizontal skyline and pattern of red brick, white sash windows and stone quoins and window surrounds. The north entrance front of seven bays and three storeys plus a basement is surrounded by a stone eagle, the Barlow family crest. The pedimented porch over the front door is an early 19th-century addition and the curved railings and gates enclosing the forecourt were added in 1983. The south front, the main façade of the house, is surmounted by a raised stone parapet of…