Hunsingore Hall
Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Motte), and also as a Possible Fortified Manor House
There are earthwork remains
| Name | Hunsingore Hall |
| Alternative Names | Hall Orchard Hill |
| Historic Country | Yorkshire |
| Modern Authority | North Yorkshire |
| 1974 Authority | North Yorkshire |
| Civil Parish | Hunsingore |
Remains of a medieval hall located on a raised river terrace overlooking the River Nidd at the southern end of the village of Hunsingore. The monument occupies a knoll, the south and west sides formed by the natural lie of the land and the east side formed by a deep hollow way. The knoll has steep sides and a flat top which measures 80m east to west by 60m north to south. The foundations of the medieval hall survive as a sub-rectangular shaped earthwork up to 1.5m high in the centre of the site. To the south of the site of the hall there are terraces which are the remains of the formal gardens. There are further earthwork remains of ancillary buildings throughout the site. The hall is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier defensive earthwork or motte commanding the ancient river crossing. Little is known of the early history of the monument. The manor of Hunsingore was granted to the Knights Templar preceptory at nearby Ribston in 1217 and it may be that the earliest defensive site was a castrum of the order. After the dissolution of the preceptory in 1536 the manor was granted to Henry Goodricke. It was some time after the 1540s that the Goodricke family home was built on the site, probably utilising existing buildings. However, the hall did not last long and it is thought that it was destroyed during the Civil War in the 1640s. (Scheduling Report)
A large oblong artificially shaped mound, having many points of resemblance to a motte, must be the site of the castrum of the Templars mentioned in a deed. It was the site of the hall of the Goodricke family which was probably destroyed during the Civil War (VCH; Speight; YAJ, 1883). The mound on which the site falls appears to be a natural hillock. The top has been artificially flattened and a small, rectangular platform raised to receive the Hall (F1 RWE 20-JUN-63). The site has been listed as a low, angular motte (Renn). (PastScape)
This site is a scheduled monument protected by law
Not Listed
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
| OS Map Grid Reference | SE428531 |
| Latitude | 53.9728317260742 |
| Longitude | -1.34820997714996 |
| Eastings | 442850 |
| Northings | 453170 |
