As 'old' houses go, High Hall is a stunning example. In many respects.
One of the most characterful homes in the Yorkshire Dales, it is a fine grade II* listed Elizabethan manor house of special architectural and historic interest, dating back to 1535 in parts.
Formerly the home of Sir William Craven, so named the 'Dick Whittington of the Dales' because he travelled to London from Appletreewick as a young lad to be apprenticed and worked his way up to being knighted in 1603 before becoming Lord Mayor of London in 1610.
The property itself has a fascinating history intimately entwined with the fortunes of the Stuart monarchy and the royalist cause – its story romanticised in prose in the travelogue, The Striding Dales, which says: "Nowhere in all the Dale, perhaps, will you understand so completely as here at High Hall the meaning of England and her strength."
Today's incarnation of High Hall is the result of an extensive programme of sympathetic updating carried out by its current owners during their 25 year tenure. This has included the addition of modern kitchen and bathroom facilities, a further three en-suite bathrooms, a double garage and gym/studio and extensive external landscaping which sit seamlessly alongside a wealth of original features including exposed timber beams and original oak panelling, decorative plasterwork ceilings and friezes, flagstone flooring, stone mullion leaded windows and impressive original fireplaces.
The property now offers just over 6,000sq.ft of accommodation including formerly derelict parts which have been renovated and restored.
The original studded oak entrance door opens to a formal double height dining room with a huge inglenook fireplace with log-burner, original beehive oven and salt-box, oak panelled wall and stone mullion windows to two sides. The original oak 'screens passage' leads to a well-proportioned family sitting room with original open fireplace with stone surround and original plasterwork tree of life frieze above, and an oak panelled window seat.
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Also on the ground floor are a cloakroom, the large kitchen diner with bespoke wooden units, large central island, electric Aga with Aga companion/ceramic hob, plus the double height Great Hall with a 17ft beamed ceiling, inglenook fireplace, original diamond-flagged floor and the completely original minstrels gallery, which is accessed from the floor above, and currently used as a library.
The cellar is home to a utility/laundry room, wine cellar and plant room.
Upstairs on the first floor are two double bedrooms, including the master bedroom with ornate decorative plasterwork ceiling and original plasterwork crest, plus a family bathroom with a feature roll-top bath.
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The original oak central stairs lead up to a second floor where there are a further three bedrooms, two with en-suites, plus a large family bathroom and a very large reception room known as the Earl of Craven's Withdrawing Room.
This has high ceilings, an original decorative plasterwork frieze to three sides, large south and east facing mullioned windows overlooking the extensive gardens and Simon's Seat. This room has variously been used as a family recreation room/cinema and an extensive home office, but would make a spectacular bedroom.
Two further large double bedrooms, both featuring en-suite shower rooms and their own seating areas, are located on the third floor alongside a large storage attic with ample headroom.
High Hall is set in beautiful, far-reaching private gardens and grounds, with extensive views over open fields and meadows towards the River Wharfe, and across Wharfedale to Simons Seat and the Bolton Abbey Estate to the south and east, and Burnsall Fell to the west.
The grounds include a cobblestone courtyard with parking and access to a single garage, an arched double garage and a further store room with mezzanine storage above; extensive south-facing terraced private gardens with a formal topiary parterre, stone folly, barbeque/outdoor dining area, koi pond, a large level lawn, and a small ha-ha leading down to a border of mature trees and shrubbery, interspersed with a woodland walk planted wild wildflowers; a spacious oak-framed gym/studio/dance space; a garden store, and a further storage shed housing garden machinery and pond filtration plant.
There is a separate terraced kitchen garden featuring raised beds planted to lavender, a stone-flagged seating area, a topiary herb garden, a hot tub and further storage sheds, plus a further gravelled topiary garden. A further five acres of adjacent paddock land are available by separate negotiation.
High Hall, in the small village of Appletreewick, surrounded by the stunning countryside of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is on the market at a guide price of £2.5m.
For more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact Strutt & Parker's Harrogate office on 01423 594856.
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