Aske Hall

Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, 1.5mi north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a John Carr stable block converted into a chapel in Victorian times with Italianate decor, a Gothic-style folly built by Daniel Garrett circa 1745, coach house with carriage, Victorian stable block, walled garden, terraced garden and lake with a Roman-style temple. The hall and estate are currently owned by the Marquess of Zetland.HistoryIt is a place of some antiquity, and long the de Aske family residence, but at first consisted merely of a square tower surrounded by bare and swampy fields. In this state it remained until it was purchased, in 1727, by Sir Conyers Darcy, who commenced the improvements that have now made it one of the finest country seats in the neighbourhood. There is an extensive prospect over the surrounding landscape from the top of the Temple, which is built on the exact model of a Hindu Temple. On Pilmore Hill (between Aske and Richmond) is a tower bearing the name of Olliver Ducat, which is said to be a perfect counterpart of an Indian hillfort.Aske Hall's history has been well documented, notably in Richmond Architecture and in a two-part article by Giles Worsley published in Country Life in March 1990. The following description has been derived from these texts.