Beningbrough Hall

Beningbrough Hall is a large Georgian mansion near the village of Beningbrough, North Yorkshire, England overlooking the River Ouse. It boasts one of Britain's finest baroque interiors and an attractive walled garden, as well as being home to over 100 portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. It has a restaurant, shop and garden shop, and was shortlisted in 2010 for the Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award.

At one time the site of a modest Elizabethan manor house, built by Sir Ralph Bourchier on his inheritance to the estate in 1556, the present house, situated a few miles outside of York, was created for his descendent, John Bourchier.

Beningbrough was built in 1716 by a York landowner, John Bourchier III to replace his family's modest Elizabethan manor, which had been here since 1556. It has a baroque interior and amazing cantilevered stairs, exceptional wood carving and unusual central corridors which run the length of the house. Externally the house is an imposing red-brick Georgian mansion with a grand drive running up to the main frontage.

Little is known about the architect. Possibly it was Thomas Archer. Local builder William Thornton oversaw the construction, but Beningbrough's actual designer remains a mystery.

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