Denton Hall  | OS Grid Ref: 414910,448807  | Site classified as: Park  | HPG Ref: 60088

Map Evidence

1853’’ OS map:
The house is shown within parkland, mostly to the north and south of the property. To the NE of the house, there is an extensive walled garden with greenhouses facing both north and south.
To the E of the walled garden there is an icehouse in woodland.
To the S of the house there is a serpentine fishpond with a bathing house to the N of the pond. A saw mill lies to the SE of this pond, which has its own pond, and has trees planted around it. To the S of the sawmill there is a brickyard with 1 pond and trees planted to the north as a screen.
There is a lodge to the SE of the park alongside a driveway through trees.
On the NE boundary of East Wood there is a deer shed on the edge of woodland.
To the N lies High Park with Lady's Walk Plantation to the N then woodland drives, eg St Helen's Gill.

1891 25’’ OS map:
The walled garden is similar to the depiction on the 1853 map, apart from the loss of the northernmost greenhouse.
There is now an orchard in the northern part of the garden and also a pheasantry NW of the house.
The bathing house by the serpentine pond has disappeared.
The sawmill shown on the 1853 map is still there together with its pond. The brickyard is no longer depicted and in its place is a tree plantation with two ponds.
The icehouse and the deer shed are both still there as previously depicted.
The Lady's Walk Plantation and St Helen's Gill appear unchanged.

1909 25’’ OS map:
The grounds and gardens remain as depicted in 1891, but now there are extensive pheasantries in woodland NE of the house.
The walled garden and the saw mill and its pond also remain.

More recent map (e.g maps.google.co.uk , select the satellite view) show the walled garden without greenhouses and with an array of solar panels in the western half.

Wellhouse Plantation

Note that the HPG Site Wellhouse Plantation actually forms part of Denton Park Estate

Current status

Denton Hall appears on the Historic England register as Grade I.
Other parts of the estate are listed as Grade II including:

• Gate Piers and Gates to North-West of Denton Hall


• Former Stables and Coach-House approximately 100 metres North-West of Denton Park


• Church of St Helen


• Bridge over Hundwith Gill


• East Lodges to Denton Park with walls flanking Drive To east


• Well Head at SE 1485 4918

In 1976, the estate was purchased by the company N G Bailey. The house is now an events venue, available for weddings, corporate events, and shooting.
Note that the commercial nature of the estate means there is no public access to any part of the hall, the grounds or parkland and no public rights of way.

Historic Map Images

The National Library of Scotland hosts early Ordnance Survey maps. These maps can be seen here.

Historical Background

The written history of the ownership of Denton Hall goes back to 1253 when the estate was made over to the See of York. The manor was sublet to the Vavasour family, and later came into the hands of the Thwaites family in 1482. The manor then passed to William Fairfax in 1515 by his marriage to Isabella Thwaites. William Fairfax was connected to the Fairfax family that included the 2nd Lord Fairfax who was the leader of the Parliamentary forces in the Civil War.

Denton remained in the hands of the Fairfax family until 1717, when the widow of the 5th Lord Fairfax sold the estate to James Ibbetson of Red Hall near Leeds. A new house was built in 1734 to replace an older one that had been destroyed by fire, and this house also burnt down in 1743. Yet another house was built for Sir James Ibbetson, commencing in 1770, with John Carr as architect. This house has survived, and is Grade I listed. The Ibbetsons did much to improve the estate, and Sir Henry Case Ibbetson became the first president of the Wharfedale Agricultural Society. He was well known for breeding shorthorn cattle.

In 1861 the Denton estate passed to the Wyvills of Burton Constable following the marriage of Laura Ibbetson to Marmaduke Wyvill, MP for Richmond. In 1900 the house was let to John Wormald JP of Dewsbury. The estate was sold in 1920 and again in 1925.

Other documentary evidence

Buck, S. c1720, Yorkshire Sketchbook, p. 193
Fletcher JS, 1900, A Picturesque History of Yorkshire - volume 2, p133 - 134 (pdf)
The official Denton Hall website (see here)
Wikipedia (see here)

Parks and Gardens UK

The site details are held on the Parks and Gardens UK database; Record Id: 1071
Record created 27/07/2007