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Project Name - Beningbrough Hall, Client - The National Trust |
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Beningbrough Hall, gardens and park, lying a few miles north west of York, have been owned and managed by the National Trust since 1958. The house and gardens are open to the public and the historic parkland is farmed by tenants. In 2008, HTLA was appointed by the National Trust to produce a Parkland Plan, which will form a major part of an application to Natural England for Higher Level Stewardship.
The estate has a long and varied history and the park contains some important archaeological sites, most notably the remains of a Roman villa and an earlier manor house. The present park developed from a monastic grange, belonging to St Leonard's Hospital, York, which passed to the Bourchier family in 1557. By the late 17th century, the house had become a large and fashionably furnished residence but was replaced by the new Hall c.1716. The Beningbrough estate remained in the Bourchier family until 1761, when they married into the Earles. The landscape designer William Sawrey Gilpin appears to have had a considerable influence on the development of the parkland, from the 1820s. The estate passed to the Dawnay family in 1827 and was later purchased by Lady Chesterfield. At her death in 1957, the Hall and park passed to the National Trust. The Hall, which boasts one of Britain's finest Baroque interiors, new houses a collection from the National Portrait Gallery.
The park contains many fine mature and veteran trees and is archaeologically and ecologically-rich. A variety of habitats, including remnants of ancient woods pasture, support several rare species, such as beetles and flies of national importance.
HTLA is collaborating with a range of associates to identify the historical, natural and aesthetic significances of the park. These will guide the development of a Parkland Plan, containing management recommendations which sensitively balance the needs of the landscape with those of a modern, working farm.
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