Beningbrough Hall: The Rise and Fall of the House of Earle

York Georgian Society Lecture

Beningbrough Hall near York is one of two major early 18th century country houses in Yorkshire now cared for by the National Trust. Making use of new research into Beningbrough – a house long mis-characterised as having ‘no history’ – this talk will draw upon a scattering of letters, archive documents and physical evidence. It will outline how and why Beningbrough and its extensive original estate was subject to a major legal tussle in the early 1760s. The eventual winner’s social ambitions would lead to a later crash, the fall-out of which remains reflected in the nature of the site today.

This story will be compared and contrasted with similar contemporary events at the other National Trust 18th century country house site in Yorkshire – Nostell, near Wakefield – and will illustrate how the lens of family finances can offer a significant insight into the histories of such noble homes.

Biography
Matthew Constantine is a regional Cultural Heritage Curator for the National Trust, working with a portfolio of sites across much of Yorkshire, including Beningbrough. He joined the Trust in 2017 after almost 20 years working in a variety of collections, curatorial and managerial roles in museums in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Leicester. He has a particular experience and interest in the challenges and opportunities around unlocking the social history that is bound up within places now presented as public heritage spaces.

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Image: The North Front of Beningbrough Hall, 1751 by J. Chapman and J. Bouttats, Oil on canvas; NT1191214 © National Trust