Clifton Castle

Estate owners

Gilbert de Clifton was tenant of the manor of Clifton in the 13th century. Shortly afterwards it passed into the hands of John de Hunton who sold it to Geoffrey le Scrope in 1320.  it passed down through the Scrope family, until the death of the 6th Lord Scrope at the end of the 15th century. Subsequently it passed through the female line to the Danby family of Thorp Perrow and then the Wyvill family of Constable Burton. (https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp344-348 accessed 19 August 2024)

It was sold in 1735 to John Hutton II of Marske Hall and inherited by John Hutton III in 1768.  His eldest son John, although illegitimate, inherited Marske Hall which was not entailed. Clifton and an estate at Walburn were left to his legitimate son Timothy. Timothy Hutton, inherited Clifton on the death of John Hutton III in 1782 as a minor but did not take possession until his majority in 1800 when he started to develop the property (Hatcher 2020, 23).

After Timothy died without issue in 1863, the estate passed to a distant cousin James Pulleine, and subsequently to his daughter and her descendants until it was sold in 1963 to the Hill family who still hold it (Hatcher 2020, 291-294).

Key owners and tenants who shaped the designed landscape and the dates of their involvement:

Timothy Hutton 1800 - 63

James Pulleine 1863 - 79

Sir John Clayton Cowell c. 1877 - 94

Lady Georgina Clayton Cowell 1889 - 1927

Robin Hill, later eighth Marquess of Downshire 1963 - 2003

Nicholas Hill, ninth Marquess of Downshire 2003 -

Early history of the site

Before the Conquest the land at Clifton was in the hands of Cnut. By 1086 a ‘manor' and 3 carucates at Clifton upon Ure were held by Count Alan of Brittany, one of William the Conqueror’s chief supporters. His successors retained the overlordship.

In 1286-7 Gilbert de Clifton was the tenant of the whole 3 carucates and had a grant of free warren in his demesne lands here.  A castle was built here by 1317 when Geoffrey le Scrope obtained a licence to crenellate his dwelling place at Clifton, in advance of his purchase of the estate which was recorded in 1320. He also had a grant of free warren in 1317. A water mill is recorded in 1340-1 and the manor had free fishery in the Ure in 1649.  (https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/north/vol1/pp344-348 accessed 3 April 2024).

The Itinerary of John Leland  (1535-1543) describes the castle  ‘The house caullid Clifton, like a pile or castelet’ (https://archive.org/details/itineraryjohnle01lelagoog/page/n16/mode/1up  accessed 3 April 2024). The position of any village associated with the castle is not certain but open fields lay to the north of the castle as LIDAR shows relict ridge and furrow corresponding to the field Crabtree Close as it appears on the 1792 estate map (Figures 1 & 2).

There is no indication of a park here in surviving documents nor on later maps (Speed 1610; Blaeu 1645; Warburton 1720). Geoffrey le Scrope had acquired the large park at Upsall in 1327 (YGT Upsall Park report) and may not have wanted the expense of maintaining another.  After the Huttons acquired the estate in 1735, the property was not occupied by the family and the castle was ruinous though with some habitable parts. Jeffery’s map of 1771 labels Clifton Abby and has the later addition of Timothy Hutton’s name alongside it. In 1780 John Hutton was taxed for a servant living at Clifton (Hatcher 2020, 31) and by 1789 there remained only ‘the ruins of a large building of Gothic architecture’ partly occupied by Mr Beckwith, a gentleman farmer (Worsley 1988, 160). An estate map was drawn up in 1792 (Figure 2), while Timothy Hutton was still a minor. Apart from some small plantations to the south, the land was principally divided into enclosed fields.

Chronological history of the designed landscape

1802-63

Timothy Hutton inherited Clifton in 1782 but only moved there in 1802 when he came of age, to build a new mansion and lay out the surrounding landscape. Initially he lived in Clifton Lodge or Halfpenny House, situated on the crossroads to the northeast, which was purchased by Hutton that year, along with adjacent cottages used as offices and stables (Hatcher 2020, 2; NYCRO ZAW 14; CCM:HN). The ruins of the earlier castle survived at the site and a section of wall to the north of the existing house is identified as being part of the castle (Historic England listing). The house under construction is depicted in a painting of George Cuit the elder in 1803, alongside the remains of the castle (Figure 3). Hutton employed the Richmond stone mason and architect John Foss for the building work, completing the mansion, kitchen garden and other buildings on the estate by 1817 (Figure 4). While building work progressed, he could start planning the designed landscape.

Hutton did not employ a landscape designer but acted upon own ideas, perhaps inspired by his friends and social acquaintances as well as holiday excursions. His friend George Cuitt the younger, the artist, sketched ideas for the main entrance (Hatcher 2020, 121-2). John Foss, the architect, also a friend, was involved in work in the grounds; for example removing trees to improve the view in 1815, setting out a plantation in January 1820 and making waterfalls in the gill in June of that year (Hatcher 2020, 40-1; NYCRO ZAW TD:D). Foss was working at Swinton Park between 1814 and 1822, where Adam Mickle II had been involved in the landscape design (Swinton Park). Hutton visited Swinton, as in May 1820: ‘went to Swinton and saw the grounds’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D) and also visited Danby’s Druid’s Temple in May 1810. It is likely that Hutton would have visited the nearby picturesque site of Hackfall and was also on visiting terms with the family at Thorpe Perrow where Foss had also worked at the same period as Mickle II (Hatcher 2020, 193-4; 197; 199; https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001075?section=official-list-entry accessed 21/5/24). Further afield, he visited the Lake District in 1813 and Scotland several times, including in 1814 when he took a trip to see the ‘fine wild scenery’ of the Trossachs and visited the gardens at Dalkieth, near Edinburgh, which occupied a riverside site similar to Clifton (Hatcher 2020, 78-79).

Payments to gardeners in 1802 and 1803 suggest that Hutton made an early start on the grounds (NYCRO ZAW TD:A). He took an active interest himself as in February 1805 when he ‘went down to the garden with Mrs H. The day came on so wet we could not garden’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:M). A flower garden was made in 1811, either close to the walled kitchen garden or in the southern part of it and yew and holly trees were planted around the house (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; CCM:HN). The main drive up to the east gate was laid out in 1810 (Hatcher 2020, 37) and the former Haness Ing field to the east of the house became a lawn.

In addition to the plantations shown on the 1792 plan, Hutton made an early start on extending his woodlands. By 1817 he had planted the large area of Waggit Hill, linking up with the riverside woods and the pre-existing Crakewood. Further planting surrounded the open spaces of Crabtree Close to the north of the house and the Lawn to the east. Shelter belts extend the length of the boundary on the road to the north towards Middleham and along the road to Masham turning to extend along the southeastern boundary of Hutton’s land enclosing Quarry Hill (Figure 4). In 1806, Hutton paid bills for planting work, one of £109 18s, another of £70 8s. In January 1807, two men were paid for ’16 days work making holes for planting’, and later that year a payment was made for diking 557 roods round a plantation (NYCRO ZAW TD:A).

Once the main buildings were complete Hutton turned his attention to the new pleasure grounds alongside the river. The area to the south of the house was open lawn, commanding spectacular views south towards Masham (Figure 5).  Hutton clearly wanted to make the most of these and periodically carried out selective tree felling. In May 1815, he asked Foss to select which trees should be take down to improve the view of Masham bridge (Hatcher 2020, 40-1). Later, in 1824 he took out trees and underwood in the Haness Ing plantation to get a better view of Masham. In July 1830, he ‘took a quantity of oak trees down in the Bank to the East of the House to get a better view of the river from the Bow Room’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

By 1817 when the estate was surveyed, there were paths, shown in yellow on the plan, in the vicinity of the house and walled garden and along the top of the Haness Ing bank.  A closed loop, called ‘the Horseshoe’ today, made a walk to the south west with a branch crossing the western gill over a bridge. In June 1816 a walk was made to the river down the ‘Bank’ south of the mansion. This area was originally clear of trees but shown in 1817 as part of the continuous ring of woodland along the river banks. Hutton frequently made changes here to enhance the view down to the river, removing some trees and planting others (Figure 4; NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Using the steep wooded banks to the southeast and southwest of the hall, he created the east and west walk circuits through the riverside woods, across their gills and along the river, depicted by George Cuitt in 1844 (Figure 6). The western circuit, was laid out in 1819 between April and September and that to the east probably the following year (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). Hutton took pride in showing off his walks to visitors: ‘went round the grounds with Mrs Dodsworth’ (September 1819); ‘Mr Danby and a party of gentlemen arrived. I went round the walks with them’ (August 1820); ‘Went round the walks with the young ladies after dinner’ (August 1821) (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). In 1836, Robert Hird, a Bedale shoemaker described a visit to Clifton in his doggerel verse ‘Annals’, though he did not descend to the riverside walks: ‘The pleasant walks we saw anon: To them we did not go’ (Lewis 1989 378). In 1823 Hutton acquired the fields to the south west of his boundary from Mr Wyvill, the area known as the Holm, and may have intended extending his walks into this area.

The four summerhouses along the walks, mapped in 1853, were most likely built around 1821, when the one near the Low Ness was finished and taking into account Cowell’s estimate in 1891 of them being over 70 years old (Figure 7; NYCRO ZAW TD:D; CCM:HN). The rocky outcrops along the river bank prompted Hutton to create features, perhaps inspired by features on the nearby Swinton estate where Mr Foss was working (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The grotto marked on the 1856 map was made in February 1826 and diary entries suggest him making arrangements of stones for planting by the riverside rocks at various times (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Hutton continued to develop the landscape during the 1820s. The fields to either side of the east and west drives were developed as parkland between 1820 and 1826, appearing first on the tithe map of 1838 and at its full extent on the Ordnance Survey map surveyed in 1853 (Figures 7, 8; NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The gateway at the east entrance was constructed in 1827 with stone from Ellington Firth Quarry (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; ZAW TD:A). In the service buildings, an extension to the stables was completed in 1824, an ice house was built in 1826 and possibly the dovecote was constructed around this time. Refurbishments were carried out at Clifton Lodge in 1825/6 to make staff accommodation.

After around 1830 the pace of development slowed. Hutton continued to manage his woods extending the Crakewood plantation in 1837 and rationalising some field boundaries as appear on the 1838 tithe map (Figure 8). The gate lodge at the main east entrance was built in 1837 (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). By this time all the main elements of the designed landscape and its buildings were complete, apart from the lodge at the north entrance which was probably built in the 1860s. In 1841, Hutton’s brother, John Hutton IV, died (Hatcher 202, 272). Timothy had to take over the running of the Marske Hall estate as well as his own and this would have meant that he had less time to spend on developments at Clifton.

1863 - 1945

Timothy Hutton died childless in 1863 and Clifton passed to his cousin once removed James Pulleine who built the second storey on the service wing and made additions and improvements to the service area (CCM:HN; Hatcher 2020, 225). It is likely that a new farm house, which became the home farm, and the west lodge were also built by him in the 1860s as they appear on the 1871 census. The Pulleine’s daughter Lady Georgina was married to Sir John Clayton Cowell who took over the running of the estate on behalf of his mother in law when Pulleine died in 1879, but may have been involved for a couple of years before that as his detailed memorandum book (CCM) starts in 1877. The memorandum book was continued by his successors up to 1945 and contains a wealth of information about activity on the Clifton estate, as well as other properties, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cowell continued to maintain the estate, clearing, replanting and draining. In 1890 he did work on the house cellars, discovering evidence of the castle walls. He started the programme of buttressing the west wall of the kitchen garden, which continues up to the present, and repairing the various buildings in the garden and foldyard. The east gateway was refurbished in 1890, the summerhouses re-thatched in 1891 and the grotto repaired in 1892 (CCM). Significant additions to the designed landscape in the 1880s included the development of the avenue on the east drive and adjustments to the line of the drive The west drive avenue was planted with sycamore and lime trees in 1886 and new kennels were built at the west lodge in 1889. Wellingtonias were planted north of the house in 1887. Planting new shrubs around the pleasure grounds, particularly rhododendrons, continued through the 1890s (CCM).

The Moon Gate in the walled garden was added in 1891, possibly inspired by examples seen in Scotland. A new orchard was laid out in 1895 in the field known as Crabtree Close and the vinery in the walled garden was renovated in 1907/8 (CCM; (https://nycroblog.com/2020/11/27/walled-gardens-and-glasshouses/ accessed 28/3/24). The memorandum book records less of the activity on the estate in the 20th century and in 1940 ‘The Big Wood, West Drive, farmyard, Stable Yard etc were requisitioned by the Army. Many huts were erected soldiers living in them and the Officers in the House’. The following year Lady Alice noted: ‘The garden is practically all vegetables now and the houses are devoted to tomatoes’ (CCM).

Later history

In 1948 the estate passed to Lt Col Assheton Penn Curzon-Howe Herrick. His heirs sold the estate in 1963 to Robin Hill, later eighth Lord Downshire. By 1970/1 a swimming pool had been installed in the enclosure behind the wall identified as surviving from the original castle and the planting of the surrounding garden was carried out by garden designer, JPC Russell (https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/jr-1-185 accessed 28/4/24). In 2000-3, as a Millenium project, the gravel sweep at the front east entrance of the house was remodelled and the cascade avenue through the Haness Ing plantation laid out (on site notice). The present owner, Nicholas ninth Lord Downshire, continues to maintain Hutton’s original designed landscape, selectively clearing to improve views and replanting, while adding new features of his own:  sculptures around the south front of the house and new planting here and in the walled garden (on site notices).

Location

Clifton Castle is located on the River Ure 2.00 km (1.2 miles) to the south west of Thornton Watlass and 3.5 km (2.25 miles) north of Masham

Area

The area discussed in this report is approximately 1.65 square km (0.64 square miles)

Boundaries  

The area is bordered to the north by a back lane towards Thornton Steward, on the east by the road through High Burton towards Masham and elsewhere largely by the River Ure.

Landform  

The underlying bedrock is Carboniferous era sedimentary rocks: Millstone Grit Group - mudstone, siltstone and sandstone on the plateau with some limestone, argillaceous rocks and subordinate sandstone at river level. These are overlain by Devensian till on the higher ground with some alluvium - clay, silt, sand and gravel along the river (https://geologyviewer.bgs.ac.uk accessed 11 September 2024).

The soil type is freely draining slightly acid loamy soils (http://www.landis.org.uk/soilscapes/ accessed 11 September 2024). The current land use in the open fields includes pasture and arable.

Setting

The designed landscape at Clifton Castle lies on a plateau north of a deeply incised meander of the River Ure with a corresponding bend of the river encircling low lying cultivated land to the south west. Most of the land slopes towards the south west from a height of 128m AOD at East Lodge, with a slight rise in the area of the Great Wood, down to the low lying fields of the Low Ness at c.85m AOD. South of the mansion the land descends precipitously down to river level along the Ure.

Four gills drain into the river from the high ground. Two of these are bridged and feature in the designed landscape. The mansion sits on the high ground above the River Ure with spectacular open views to the south towards Masham (Figure 5). With the walled garden and associated buildings it is sheltered to the west, north west and east by plantations. The Park lies to the East and North. The site is within the National Character Area 22 Pennine Dales Fringe.

Entrances and approaches

East Lodge [Grade II NHLE:1293975]

The main east entrance to the estate must be that referred to in Hutton’s diary as ‘High Gate(s)’. It is clear that a gate lodge was planned here in 1836 when Hutton met with the workmen ‘setting out the place for the lodge at High Gate’ on the 14th September. The work was carried out in 1837 between 1 March, when he views the site again and 18 November when he and Mr Cuitt walk to the ‘new lodge’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Gate [Grade II NHLE:1151222]

The east entrance gateway was being planned in November 1826 when George Cuitt was ‘engaged most of the day drawing design for a gateway’, probably that illustrated in Hatcher (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; Hatcher 2020, 121). The work was carried out the following year though not to Cuitt’s design. In January 1827, Hutton got permission from Mr Danby at Swinton to get stone from the Ellington Firth quarry ‘for the pillars for the entrance at the lodge and for the wall’.  On 8 October, ‘Mr Bradley measured off the mason work, the wall and gateway’ and a payment of £263 for the stone and mason work was made the very next day (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; ZAW TD:A). 

The original east gates were altered in 1890. The four square pillars and wall ends were removed as they suffered from damp and needed constant maintenance ‘and two old ones from the West Lodge were put up in their place, with two smaller ones at the wall ends’ (CCM).

Main Drive

The road up to the new house and service area from the east entrance opposite Clifton Lodge was laid out in February 1810 (Hatcher 2020, 37) by Hutton and Mr Foss. It appears on the 1817 map with a thin belt of trees along the northern side (NYCRO ZAW 240). 

In Hutton’s day this drive was gated where the drive to the house diverged from that leading to the service buildings, as indicated on the 1817 and tithe maps (Figures 4, 8). This was possibly the gate, known later as the ‘Gingerbread’ gate (no longer extant), because of Hutton’s tradition of giving gingerbread here to the schoolchildren when he invited them to Clifton for a treat (CCM). In 1882, Cowell moved this gate further up the rise on the east road for safety reasons (Figure 9) and in 1932 it was moved again to the south side of the drive when a wire fence was erected along the boundary with the Park (CCM).

In 1879 Sir John Cowell had about twelve trees from the north side of the drive cut down to form an avenue: ‘About four very nice trees had to be sacrificed, but the effect was generally considered good’ (CCM). At some point between 1880 and 1892 trees were planted on the other side of the drive to complete the avenue as it appears on the 1892 25” Ordnance Survey map (Figure 9). The avenue today is composed of lime trees.

Also in 1879, Cowell describes moving the drive to the west ‘about 20 inches at a time, by shifting over the stones and ground on East to West side of the road, and placing the turf taken from the West, on the East side’. The westward direction suggests this section might have been the part of the drive nearer the house. Further gradual shifting was carried out in 1880,1881 and 1884 when the drive was moved ‘about 30 inches northwards for about one third of its length’. Also in 1884, Wellingtonias and Sycamores were planted ‘at lower end of East Avenue on slope and foot of hill on west side’. In early 1895 the drive was again moved north about 4 feet ‘and stoned and gravelled from the East Lodge to the Front Gate’(CCM). These works were perhaps needed to make the line of the drive match the avenue referred to above, although it is still not central.

West Lodge/North Lodge/Keeper’s Lodge

The west lodge was built between 1853 and 1871, most probably by Pulleine in the 1860s. It does not appear on the first edition 1856 6” Ordnance Survey map but is listed on the census of 1871 when it had become the customary residence of the gamekeeper. In 1889 ‘A small duck pond was made at the back of the West Lodge, and pines planted all about’ and, between July and November 1897, four new kennels were built at West Lodge along with yards and a Boiling and Store house. The old kennels in the service yard (see Foldyard below) were demolished. The duck pond was remade and rhododendrons were planted (CCM).

It is likely that the gate was built here at the same time as the lodge, but the pillars removed to the east entrance in 1890 (CCM).  The gate indicated on the 1892 25” map is presumably a replacement. The pillars of this gate were removed during WWII to allow for the passage of military vehicles and were later used for the gateway at the head of the cascade in the Haness Ing plantation created in 2000-3 (N. Downshire pers. comm.).

West Drive

Some sort of access track existed in 1792 before Hutton started to develop the estate and this was developed and improved over time as the link between the house and the farm on the other side of the road to the north. In January 1815 he made a payment ‘for widening the road betwixt the Farm House and the Bank’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:A). The 1817 plan shows this road continuing south to access the fields at High and Low Ness (Figure 4). In April 1821 and March 1829 there are references to drainage work by the side of the road ‘leading to the farm house’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Cowell planted Sycamore and Lime trees in 1886 in the line of the ‘avenue’ on this road and in 1895 young trees and thorns were planted to fill gaps on the east side of the west drive. More trees were planted on the side of road to the West Lodge in the spring of 1896 (CCM).

Principal buildings

Clifton Castle [Grade II* NHLE:1151220]

The house was built over the foundations of the castle of the same name which existed on the site before Hutton came into the property. Cowell carried out work in the cellars in 1890 and describes ancient masonry being visible, as well as describing the discovery of the old castle well shown on the later 1894 Ordnance Survey 25” map (Figure 9). In 1893 he bored into the north wall of the cellar and found it to be 13’ thick (CCM). The foundation stone of Hutton’s house was laid on the 8th September 1802. John Foss was the architect and, according to the Cowell memorandum, the stone was obtained locally (within 2-3 miles) from the ‘Gawnley’ Foot quarry (= Gollinglith Foot), the Ellington Firth quarry on the Swinton Estate and stone for the east elevation pillars and corner blocks from Healey Pasture (CCM:HN). The stone slates for the roof were possibly those obtained from Penhill quarry near West Witton in 1808 (NYCRO ZAW TD:A; Figure 10). Cowell records that the house took about three and a half years to build but Hutton did not move in until 1810 (Hatcher 2020, 38). Some work also continued after 1810, payment being made in June 1815 ‘for working stone for the South Front’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:A).

Connected to the house to the west is a service courtyard. This may have been planned in 1805 when Mr Foss ‘mark’d out the ground works for the offices’ and appears on the 1817 plan (NYCRO ZAW TD:M). Alterations were made in 1830 to build a servants’ hall (ZAW TD:D). The two upper floors of the southern wing were added by Pulleine in 1865 (CCM:HN).

To the north east of the service courtyard is an enclosed space bordered on the east by a wall believed to be part of the original castle (Grade II: NHLE 1189981). This space contains a swimming pool today, replacing an earlier covered yard for cattle (N. Downshire pers. comm.).  In 1970/1, pool area was planted by garden designer JPC Russell (https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/jr-1-185, accessed 28/3/24).

In 2000-3, as part of a millennium project, the present owners reshaped the gravel sweep at the front door with cobbles from the river, box borders and a dome with the Hill family crest and millennium date in the centre (site notice).   

Stables [Grade II NHLE:1151221]

The stables were built by 1817 consisting of two parallel ranges of buildings with a courtyard between (Figure 4). Some further work was done on the stables in 1823-4. In December 1823 ‘Mr Foss made a plan of the intended addition to the stables’ and in June 1824 Mr Foss ‘measured off the stables the stonework roofing and slating’ and the workmen ‘cleaned out the new stables’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The nature of the work is not specified but a clock for the stable was purchased in 1823 (Hatcher 2020, 39), put right in May 1824 and paid for in October (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The 1856 6” Ordnance Survey map suggests some additions to the original stable buildings which may have been the dairy and milk parlour which were there in the 1960s (Figure 7; N. Downshire pers. comm.). The canopy at the front of the stable buildings was added by 1892 (Figures 9, 11).

In the October of 1888 Cowell ‘constructed the covered way at the stables to connect the east and west and form a good shelter for horses and carriages, and for many other useful purposes’ (CCM). A wall across the courtyard between the two wings on the east appears on maps from 1892, although the courtyard is not shown as covered. The roof that is in place today was put on in the 1960s (N. Downshire pers. comm).

Coach house/Granary & Cartshed [Grade II NHLE:1190009]

Hutton first employed a coachman in June 1806 (Hatcher 2020, 46) and a payment of £73 10s was paid in July of that year to Mr Wright (a joiner) for the coach house (NYCRO ZAW TD:A). It is likely that this is the small building shown on the 1817 plan to the west of the stables and which is described on the Historic England listing as a cartshed with granary over (Figure 4).  A payment in January 1814 for a balance of £2 5s 6d ‘for building the carthouse at Clifton’ may refer to this building or another (NYCRO ZAW TD:A). In 1894 part of the granary above was made into an office for the bailiff (CCM).

Dovecote & Storage range [Grade II NHLE: 1315003]

The dovecote and storage range first appears on the 1838 tithe map (Figure 8).  However, it is likely to have been built not long after other buildings and certainly before November 1835 when the pigeon cote was cleaned out (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). In August 1894 the roof of the pigeon cote was stripped and re-lathed and slated (CCM).

Icehouse

The icehouse was probably built in 1826 as the first reference to it is a payment of £9 10s ‘for mason work at the Ice House’ in September of that year (NYCRO ZAW TD:A). In December Hutton ‘Got twenty loads of ice into the ice house’ and in the following January ‘Got the ice house filled at Clifton 92 loads in the hole that has been put in’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).  In 1891 the icehouse front was paved with old stone flags from one of the cart houses (CCM). It survived as a structure on maps until the early 20th century (Figure 12) but is no longer extant, its position marked by a depression in the ground.

Foldyard/Farmyard/Estate Yard

To the north west of the mansion and to the north of the walled garden is a yard surrounded by estate workshops and farm buildings, some described above. This has evolved and continues to change as structures have been removed, rebuilt and added to. A pre-existing pond on the west side of the area continued in various forms until it was removed by Cowell in 1880/81 (CCM).

In Hutton’s day this area could have been that referred to by him as the ‘foldyard’, though the focus of farming activity would more likely have been at the farmhouse on the north side of the road. The foldyard may, more specifically, have been the walled enclosure to the north of the stables as he mentions planting trees against the foldyard wall next to the road in February 1825 (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). There were kennels here in 1825, replaced by those at the West Lodge in 1889 (CCM).

New owners after Hutton’s death in 1863 are responsible for later changes. Pulleine added a water tower and gas house in 1865 and an adjacent cart shed in 1869. He may also have added the farmhouse, today known as the Home farm, in the 1860s when there is a reference to the farm yard being covered in 1866, and certainly before 1882, when Cowell refers to the Home Farm Yard (CCM:HN; CCM). It is probably this building that first appears on the census in 1871 as the home of the Farm Bailiff.

Further workshops (Blacksmith’s and joiners) were added on the west end of the dovecote range. In 1899 major repairs were carried out to the ‘Fold Yard’ which, from the description, is probably the covered farm yard north of the stables referred to above (CCM).

Summerhouses

Four thatched rustic shelters, marked as summerhouses in 1856 (Figure 7) were built on the walk circuits, three to the east and one to the west. All still exist, though not in their original condition. The most westerly, right on the river bank, was built by May 1821 when Hutton was ‘with Robert Horner most of the day he was finishing the thatch’d house near the Low Ness’. This was later referred to as the Fishermans Hut and was prone to flooding as recorded in 1883 and 1886. It was repaired in 1887 and 1889 (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; CCM).

The others were probably also built in the 1820s. In 1826 there are references to thinning the woodland ‘on the bank below the summer house’ and taking trees ‘out of the gill near the thatched house’. These must be summerhouses elsewhere along the riverside. In March 1837 a scarlet horse chestnut was planted ‘below the hut near the river’. All the huts were probably thatched originally as in February 1891 they were all re-thatched ‘after having stood as far as is known over 70 years’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; CCM). Further repair and thatching has taken place more recently since the 1960s (Figure 13; N. Downshire pers. comm.).

A fifth structure appears on the later 25” maps (Figures 9, 12).  This may have been where there is a semi-circular seat today or further upstream where foundations have been noted (N. Downshire pers. comm.).

The Grotto

In February 1826 Hutton created the feature known as the Grotto, Cave or tunnel or more recently the Robber’s Cave. This is a tunnel through a rock on the eastward riverside path and is marked as ‘Grotto’ on the Ordnance Survey 6”1856 map (Figure 7). On the 9th of February Hutton’s men had got 29 feet into the rock from the opening and on the 11th ‘the men began to cut the rock at the outside to get up to the place I wished it to come out at’. By the 17th they had ‘got an excellent road through’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The sides and roof had to be repaired in 1892 as it had fallen in due to severe frosts (CCM; Figure 14).

Gardens and pleasure grounds

Haness Ing lawn

The field to the east of the house, labelled Haness Ing in 1792, became a lawn across which the gated access drive to the front door approached after diverging from the main drive. Another similar drive led from the front door towards the north west in the direction of the stables. The gate to the east was the probable location of the ‘Gingerbread Gate’.  By 1817 the lawn was surrounded by a shrubbery to the north, riverside woods to the south and a large plantation around the upper reaches of the gill to the east where a path towards Masham was made in 1810-11 (Figure 4).

In 2000-3, as part of the a Millenium project the present owners extended the lawn area by creating an avenue through the Haness Ing plantation with water cascades flowing towards the house to two half moon ponds. The top of the avenue terminated at a gateway which re-used the gate piers from the west lodge removed during WWII. A wildflower meadow was sown between the lawn and the plantation to the east, known today as Gingerbread Bank (Site notice; Figure 15).

House environs

To the north of the house there were clumps of trees or shrubberies between the house and the service areas in the area known as ‘the triangle’ from at least 1887 (CCM). It could be these shrubberies where Hutton was working in October 1835 marking the shrubs he wanted removed and overseeing their removal and transplanting of others (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). In 1887 Cowell planted Wellingtonias here (CCM).The area to the south of the house was open lawn, commanding spectacular views south towards Masham (Figure 5).

Hutton planted yew trees around the house. Those in front of the Kitchen windows were planted on 6 March 1811, according to Cowell’s oral history notes.  These were cut down in 1928 as they had grown so large (CCM:HN). In 1880 many yews were removed from the north and west sides of the house and in 1895 one was taken down ‘at the corner of the south border outside the Kitchen Garden’ and replaced with other shrubs (CCM).

Hutton planted many holly trees around the grounds, many of which were apparently transplanted from the verges of surrounding fields and lanes. In October 1812 a large one came from the Boat Close field and several from Masham Lane and were planted at the west and in front of the house.  One of these proved a particular challenge to bring back ‘notwithstanding we had besides my own four Horses four of Masons’. However the next day ‘By cutting the earth out on the low side of the large Holly we succeeded in getting it out of the hole and got it to Clifton at 9 o clock where it now stands at the South east corner of the House….got another holly  in the afternoon which we planted at the front of the house - not so large as the one we got in the morning but a very handsome tree’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). More were planted in October 1816 against the west side of the house and in November 1821 the gardener and men were taking up hollies in ‘the Green Lane beyond Gebdikes’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

In November 1895 old and dead rhododendrons and shrubs were replaced in the grounds (CCM). The current owner cleared the Horseshoe of overgrown rhododendrons and has planted various trees and shrubs, including azaleas, magnolias and species rhododendrons from the Himalayan Garden at Grewelthorpe. This has opened up new views of the river. They have also installed sculptures here and around the south front of the house and developed the planting, including an avenue of crab apples and catmint on the path to the garden (site notice).

The Flower Garden

In the latter half of March 1811 Hutton ‘set out the flower garden near to the kitchen garden’, also planting shrubs and putting gravel upon the walks (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The shrubs came from Thompson’s, most probably the nursery of Christopher Thompson at Pickhill, between Thirsk and Bedale. The location of the flower garden is uncertain but could have been in the southern area of the walled garden where there was ornamental planting in the later 19th century and today.  Alternatively, it may refer to the area along the south front where there were probably floral parterres in the past, as there are today.

There is little reference in Hutton’s diaries to the flowers grown but Hird mentions dahlias (Lewis 1989, 378). In 1893 Cowell’s gardener grew giant cinerarias (Gardeners chronicle & new horticulturist April 29, 504).

The Bank

The section of steep bank to the river south of the old castle was shown clear of trees in 1792 but was planted early to complete the ring of woodland shown in 1817 along the river banks. In June 1816, a walk, shown on the 1817 map and still extant, was made down the bank (Figure 4; NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

The Bank may have been sparsely planted, as today, perhaps to open the views, and Hutton was often busy taking trees out and planting others. In April 1814 six walnut trees were planted in the Bank in front of the house (Hatcher 2020, 40). In October 1817 he had some trees taken out and some planted ‘in clump in the Bank in front of the House’. In January 1824 laurels were removed and hollies and other evergreens planted ‘in front of the garden’ which would be the area at the top of the Bank. Later that year more laurels were planted in the Bank and other trees removed. In February 1826 he had one of six acacias planted ‘in the Bank below the garden’, the others near the river.  More thorns and hollies were planted in the Bank and Gill in October 1836 (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; Figure 16)

The riverside walks

The walk down the bank, made in June 1816 linked up with a path stretching both east and west along the riverside. They were uncoloured in 1817 so were probably not developed at this time. On the west side (Black Dub bank) there was also a track shown leading along the ridge but this did not link up with the riverside. On the east side the riverside path bent at the limit of the property and headed up the bank towards the footpath to Masham but did not return through the woods (Figure 4).

Hutton subsequently developed these walks to the east and west along the riverside.  In 1819 the western walk was made by the river along the foot of Black Dub Bank towards Low Ness, presumably improving on the track already there. Work continued, perhaps intermittently from the end of April to early July. By September this Low Walk was being gravelled and a new walk laid along the top of the Black Dub Bank making the circuit that still exists today (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). Certainly, by summer 1819 the walks must have been complete enough to show off as there are a number of diary references to Hutton taking visitors round the grounds and walks. The upper arm of the western circuit crossed the western gill with the stone bridge shown on the 1817 plan. This may be the one depicted in a drawing by Cuitt in 1827 (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/george-cuitt-pencil-drawings-1837288585  accessed 23/5/24). The bridge was washed away in 1936 and subsequently rebuilt (CCM).

The walks to the east were probably completed in 1820. In June 1820 there was work on ‘making the walk from the rocks towards the Holm’ and around the boundary with Mr Wyvill’s land.  This was the eastern limit of the grounds at that time. The ‘rocks’ were probably those on the riverside where Hutton later made the Grotto. Also in June, ‘Mr Foss and I were in the Wood with the labourers making waterfalls in the Haness Ing Gill’, suggesting that the upper path on the eastern circuit, where two bridges cross the two arms of the eastern gill, was also being developed. In 1835 some beeches were taken out on the approach to them (NYCRO ZAW TD:D; Figures 17, 18). According to Pulleine’s notes, the walks were made of stone from Gebdykes and surfaced with marl from the quarry at Clifton (CCM:HN).

In 1891, many decayed or stunted trees were replaced between the eastward gill and the east end of the grounds. In November 1896 the bank near the first bridge to the east was cleared and replanted ‘with rhododendrons, laurels, Portugals and Ferns’ (CCM). Recent work has seen some trees selectively felled around the riverside to improve the views. and rhododendrons cut back to let more light in (site notice).

There are rocky outcrops along the riverside path and Hutton makes a number of references to particular rocks where he seems to be planning some ornamental planting. In December 1824 he was ‘making some alterations by the first rock’ to place some stones and in June 1825 he was ‘placing petrified stone and putting soil upon the Rock for plants’. In May and August 1836 he cleared out places in the rock and put in soil for plants and in September he put in plants, some from Mr Cuitt’s garden (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Kitchen garden

The walled garden at Clifton is situated to the west of the house. It is irregular in shape with a straight north wall and right angle at the NE corner, the other walls being curved. The space is divided into two by a cross wall. The southern section has a low wall rising to between 9-12’ high (estimated) northwards to the east and west (Figure 19). The walls are generally stone on the outside and brick inside. The main access to the walled garden from the house leads to a circular side gate or Moon Gate.

Cowell records that ‘Mr Hutton pulled down the remains of the Castle walls above ground, and these furnished material for gardens walls, and outbuildings’ (CCM:HN). Some of this would have gone to create the walled garden. This would seem to have happened fairly early, perhaps concurrently with other building work but later than 1803 when parts of the castle are depicted still standing (Figure 3). On February 21 1805 Hutton notes: ‘Went down to the garden with Mrs H’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:M). This suggests there was already a kitchen garden and it must have been extant in 1810 when ‘the narrow walk to the Garden Gate was laid out’ (CCM:HN).

The walled garden was certainly extant in 1815 when the cross wall was built between June and September. A payment of £22 1s 9d for mason work for ‘the garden wall at Clifton’ was made in October 1815. (CCM:HN; NYCRO ZAW TD:A). By the time the walled garden was surveyed in 1817, it had the plan that remains unchanged today (Figure 4).

Later owners found it necessary to build buttresses along the western curved wall (Figure 20). In 1879 two flying buttresses were built to support the Garden wall ‘which was about to fall at two points, and would have carried a great length down’. Two more were built in 1880 and in 1893 another ‘near the Garden Gill door on north side’. Two more buttresses were built in 1907 by Cowell’s successor and a date plaque of 1928 confirms that, in that year, ‘part of the kitchen garden wall was thrown down and rebuilt’ (CCM). An additional buttress was built in 2022 at the southernmost end of the west wall (N. Downshire pers. comm.).

The distinctive circular gate, the Moon Gate, at the entrance to the Garden was installed in 1891 ‘to improve the view from inside and give more light at what was a dark corner’ (Figure 21). This may have been inspired by examples in Scotland at Carberry, Musselburgh and Logie Ebberston, judging by a loose annotated sketch in the pages of Cowell’s memorandum book. Installing the gate necessitated the access path to be moved in ‘at the bend nearest the gate about two feet' (CCM; CCM:HN). At the southern end of the garden, a half moon gate in the low wall, was installed more recently (N. Downshire pers. comm.).

The layout of the interior space has remained largely unchanged. There is a building against the north side of the cross wall on the 1817 plan (Figure 4). These were probably sheds built in anticipation of the hothouse which was already being planned in September of that year: ‘William Wright met Mr Foss to fix with him for the wood for the Hot House’. In the March of the following year ‘Mr Foss drew a plan of the Hot-house for William Wright we fixed upon the stove being in the garden’. In June 1835 some of the glass was broken by ‘a tremendous thunderstorm’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). Map evidence suggests that this glasshouse was rebuilt or enlarged between 1856 and 1892 (Figures 7, 9). There is a glasshouse today though reduced in size and rebuilt (N. Downshire pers. comm.). It is possible to see in the cross wall where this originally extended to the west. The glasshouse is still linked to the sheds on the north side by a door/doors.

A similar range of buildings is shown on the tithe map of 1838 (Figure 8) on the north wall of the northern part of the garden, and a building, probably a glasshouse, is shown on the southern side of the wall in 1856 (Figure 7). Both glasshouses appear on the 1892 25” map with their range of sheds (Figure 9). Two additional glasshouses are shown in 1892 and a dipping pond. The pond is not extant today but was until at least 1927 (Ordnance Survey 25” 1929) .

Hird mentions both a hot house and green house in 1836, one being a vinery.  He described it as having steam heating, fired by cinders, and passing through iron pipes on the inside of the building. He also refers to a ‘basen’, presumably the dipping pond, of ‘hewn stone work’ (Lewis 1989, 377-8). This was used by Hutton in June 1830 put a large tench, one of a several tench and perch supplied by a friend. Presumably it was handy for the kitchen (NYCRO ZAW TD:D)

The glasshouse against the north wall, still extant, was a succession vinery with three compartments where Gros Colmar grapes were grown (The Gardener’s Chronicle 28 November 1891, 653). It was reglazed in 1880. The early and intermediate compartments were renewed in 1907 and the late vinery in 1908, the work carried out by Richardson & Co of Darlington (CCM; https://nycroblog.com/2020/11/27/walled-gardens-and-glasshouses/ accessed 28/3/24; Figure 22).

There is evidence of other garden buildings, not located, mentioned in the later 19th century memorandum (CCM).  There was building and repair work to cucumber houses (1880 & 1883), a peach house on the west side of a conservatory (1884) and garden bothies (1880). Later, repairs to a mushroom house (1900) were mentioned, more work on the garden bothy (1910) and a fruit room (1913).

The southern section of the walled garden could have been a more ornamental space from Hutton’s time and there is evidence that it was being used this way in the later 19th century. A small arbour, still extant, is first shown at the end of the cross path in 1892 and, in 1896, ‘Crimson Rambler and W Alan Richardson roses, white Japonicas from Cowes and Honeysuckle’ were grown on iron chains between larch posts on a cross border (CCM). A second matching arbour/summerhouse was moved to the north path of this garden area in recent times from the area known as the Horseshoe (N. Downshire pers. comm). More recently, the southern section of the walled garden has been developed with both ornamental and vegetable planting. A pergola with pear and nut trees has been erected, leading from the half moon gate and a tennis court was laid out in 1964 (site notices; N. Downshire pers. comm).

In the years before the current owners came in 1963 there was ‘a major replanting of the rose borders down the central path up to the summer-house, and possibly some area the other side of the wall in the middle given over to pheasant rearing for a time’ (M. Curzon pers. comm.).

Hutton established an orchard around 1816, planted by his gardener Philip Jackson. The location is uncertain but it was probably within the walled garden (Lewis ed. 1989, 379). In 1828 ‘Eight trees from Lee and Co Hammersmith were planted in the large garden - one Orleans plum, one violet plum (Reine Claude), one Goliath plum, one Helmskirk apricot, one Waterloo cherry, one Black Eagle cherry, one Florence cherry’. The ‘large garden’ may refer to the larger southern part of the walled garden.  In 1880 Cowell ‘planted new fruit trees all over garden’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D: CCM).

In 1895 a new orchard (not extant) was established ‘on the N.W. side of the Paddock’ (CCM). This appears as a wedge shaped plot on the Ordnance Survey 25” 1912 map in part of the former Crabtree close alongside the area occupied by a nursery in 1894. It continued until sometime after the 1920s (Figure 12).

Park and plantations

Park

There is no park shown on the 1817 plan. The area of the later park is still shown as enclosed fields - Far, Middle and Near Closes, Clifton Pasture, High Pasture and Quarry Hill. A kidney shaped plantation in the middle of Clifton pasture suggests that Hutton might have already been developing a more ornamental landscape here.

The development of Clifton and High Pastures into parkland started in 1820. In January another plantation, a feature of the later park, was laid out with Mr Foss along the boundary with Near Close (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). This appears on the tithe map of 1838 in the parkland as a linear plantation running NE/SW (Figure 8). In March 1820 Hutton had holes dug in the pastures where he intended planting trees and had thorns and hazels planted along the roadside (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Work to extend the park into the area to the west of the drive to the east gate, the fields known as the Bedford Ground started in 1825. In March about 20 trees, some limes, were planted there. In 1826 Hutton was ‘in the near and middle close with labourers planting thorns around the trees I had planted’. In September that year he started clearing fences in the Bedford Ground to the west of the carriage drive to the north entrance and planting trees and thorns. In December he planted single trees there, ‘chiefly limes from George Mason 9-10’ high ‘(NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

In April 1837 more trees were planted in the park, some transplanted from his plantations. By 1838 the tithe map shows open parkland on either side of the drive to the east lodge and main gate and probably extending west of the road into the Bedford Ground where it is shown clearly at its full extent in 1853/6 (Figures 7, 8). According to later accounts the stone for the outside of the Park Wall came from Ellington Firth and the inside from Clifton Marl Quarry (CCM:HN).

In the later 19th century, the park to the south of the carriage road was known as the Cow pasture, including Cow House Wood. A chestnut tree was planted here in 1895 in commemoration of the 101st Anniversary of Lord Howe’s victory over the French fleet in 1794. Beeches were grown here, later felled in 1930 and sold to make clogs. A new covert was planted and called Clogs covert. The remaining beeches and oaks were felled in 1932 (CCM).

Crakewood

In 1792 this was a small rectangular patch of woodland, extended slightly in length by 1817 (Figures 2,4). Hutton may have exploited the woodland here commercially as in May 1821 his men were ‘peeling larches in Crakewood’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). The 1838 tithe map (Figure 8) shows new plantation in the adjacent field (formerly Crakewood Ploughing). This was laid out in 1837 and was established woodland by 1853 (Figure 7). Hutton approached Jacksons of Cross Lanes Nursery in January about the planting of West Crakewood and Jackson agreed to plant it at the rate of £3 10s an acre (ZAW TD:D). 

West wood/ Crow Hill

This irregular shaped strip of woodland was called West Wood in 1792 and by 1817 was reduced slightly in size to the shape it is today.  By 1853 it had taken the name Crowhill Wood from an earlier field name (Figures 2, 4, 7).

Black Dub Bank, Burton Bank and East river bank

The steep river banks are shown wooded in 1792 (Figure 2).

Shelter belts

By 1817 shelter belts extended the length of the boundary on the road to the north towards Middleham and along the road to Masham, turning to extend along the southeastern boundary of Hutton’s land enclosing the Quarry Hill (Figure 4). These were probably planted with oaks as there a reference to thinning oaks in the Belt plantation in May 1825 (NYCRO ZAW TD:D). In 1929 the tree belt by the west drive was replanted and that by Cow Pasture in the south east was felled in 1937 but replanted later (CCM).

Haness Ing plantation/Gingerbread Bank

This plantation to the east of the house on the far side of the lawn may already have been planted by 1810 when a walk was created linking with the footpath towards Masham. The walk was laid out by Hutton and Foss on 20 November 1810 (CCM:HN) but not finished until the following year when several days in September were spent ‘on the Haness Ing Bank making a walk along the top’. In February 1824 Hutton was in the Haness Ing plantation removing trees and underwood to improve the view of Masham (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

If the location of the Old Castle Well is the same as the Old Castle Spring, rhododendrons and Lilac bushes were planted here in 1897 ‘near the small gate leading to the Old Castle Well’ (CCM). Later this area became known as Gingerbread Bank, perhaps when Cowell moved the gate suggested as being of that name. Hollies were planted in here in 1900 ‘on Gingerbread Bank at Clifton, near the Old Castle Well’ and it first appears on a map in 1929 (CCM; Figure 12).

Crabtree Close

By 1817 this field was surrounded by by a ring of plantation linking Waggitt hill/Great wood to the west with the plantations to the east. In 1829 Hutton planted quicks and holly in the Crabtree Close hedge (Figure 4; NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Waggitt Hill/Great Wood/Big Wood

This extensive woodland did not exist on the 1792 map and was planted by 1817, taking in the fields called Wagit Hill, Gean Dale, Crakewood meadow, part of Crakewood Plain, Great Paddock. Little Paddock, High Cow Stand and Applegarth (Figures 2, 4). This filled the area up to the walled garden with woodland and joined the pre-existing western riverside plantations along Black Dub Bank and Burton bank, making one continuous stretch of woodland.

Wellingtonias were planted here in 1885 and elsewhere in the grounds from Lord Sudeley’s estate at Toddington, Gloucestershire. In early 1903 part of the top end of the Big Wood was cut down and replanted with Scotch Firs and Austrian Pines. Another patch adjoining Crakewood Plain was cleared and planted with mixed trees (CCM).

The Holm and adjacent fields

A note on the 1817 plan (Figure 4) records that Hutton acquired land to the south of his south eastern border, referred to as the Holm, from Mr Wyvill in 1823. This was first referred to in October 1821 and was by exchange with a plantation elsewhere.  In June 1823 ‘Mr Bradley walked with me to see the Highburton lands I have got in Exchange’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

He may have intended to extend his riverside walks in this area and spent much time in 1824 working here, even speculating in July about building a tower in the field called Orton. In March and April 1825 he had an embankment built against the river, presumably to control flooding, planting some larch, ash and elm in this area. In July of that year, he was ‘making a walk over the gill’ at Orton Bank in the West Spring/West Bank Wood. In November 1835 ‘The gardener and his men planted out the Spanish chestnuts I got from York some by the side of the river betwixt the Quarry Close and Orton’ (NYCRO ZAW TD:D).

Water

There was a pond to the NW of the buildings in 1792 which appears to continue as a feature of the foldyard area until 1880 when it was removed (Figure 2; CCM).

Beyond the walks in the Low Ness, an arm of the Ure had silted up and this was made into a pond in June 1886 ‘for skating, getting ice, having a fishpond, boating and duck shooting’ apart from some more practical purposes. This had attracted ducks and snipe by the following September. In 1890 this pond was stocked with 500 Loch Leven trout from the Sauchie Fish Estate near Stirling (CCM).

Books and articles

Hatcher, J. 2020. Timothy Hutton (1779-1863) of Clifton Castle and Marske in Swaledale. The Life and Times of a Yorkshire Gentleman York, York Publishing Services Ltd.

Langdale,T ed. 1822. A topographical dictionary of Yorkshire

Lewis Lesley ed. 1989. Hird’s Annals of Bedale (from the papers of Robert Hird 1768-1841 shoemaker of Bedale, North Riding) NYCRO publications No2 NYCC

Worsley, G. 1988. ‘Clifton Castle, Yorkshire’, Country Life 22 September 1988, 160-165

Primary sources

Clifton Castle archive

CCM  Memorandum Book of Sir John Clayton Cowell

CCM:HN Historical notes (oral history) appended to the Cowell memorandum book 

North Yorkshire County Record Office (NYCRO)

ZAW 14 Title Deeds

ZAW 239 A Plan of Timothy Hutton Esqr's Estate at Clifton in the Parish of Watlas by Henry Morley, Richmond, 1792

ZAW 240 Plan of Timothy Hutton Esqres Clifton Estate Surveyed in 1817 by Thomas Bradley, Richmond

ZAW TD:D Timothy Hutton’s diaries

ZAW TD: A Timothy Hutton’s Accounts

ZAW TD: M Timothy Hutton’s Memorandum Book

ZAW TD: S Timothy Hutton’s Servant’s Book

ZAW TD: W Timothy Hutton’s Wages Book

The National Archives (TNA)

IR 30/42/383 Tithe map Thornton Watlass 1838

IR 29/42/383 Tithe Apportionment Thornton Watlass 1838

 

Maps

Ordnance Survey 6” map, Yorkshire Sheet 85, surveyed 1853, published 1856.

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.2, surveyed 1891, published 1892

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.3, surveyed 1890-1, published 1892

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.6, surveyed 1891, published 1892.

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.7, surveyed 1893, published 1894.

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map YorkshireLXXXV.6, revised 1911, published 1912

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.7, revised 1910, published 1912.

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.6, revised 1927, published 1929

Ordnance Survey 25” inch map Yorkshire LXXXV.7, revised 1927, published 1929

Figure 1: LIDAR image showing area of ridge and furrow (image from https://houseprices.io/lab/lidar/map, using Environment Agency data released under an Open Government Licence, accessed 31 October 2024).

Figure 2: Plan of Timothy Hutton Esqr's Estate at Clifton in the Parish of Watlas by Henry Morley, Richmond, 1792 (ZAW 239 Reproduced by permission of the North Yorkshire County Record Office).

Figure 3: View of the house under construction and the remains of the castle by George Cuit the elder, dated 1803 (Reproduced by permission of Lord Downshire).

Figure 4: Plan (detail) of Timothy Hutton Esqres Clifton Estate Surveyed in 1817 by Thomas Bradley, Richmond (ZAW 240 Reproduced by permission of the North Yorkshire County Record Office).

Figure 5: The view towards Masham from the environs of the house. The church spire is visible in the distance (image: M.Mathews)

Figure 6: View of the riverside walks at Clifton by George Cuitt the younger dated 1844 (Reproduced by permission of Lord Downshire).

Figure 7: Ordnance Survey 6” map, surveyed 1853, published 1856 (National Library of Scotland CC-BY).

Figure 8: Detail of 1838 Tithe Map for Thornton Watlass (Crown copyright. reproduced courtesy of National Archives IR 30/42/383, 1838).

Figure 9: Composite extract of adjacent Ordnance Survey 25” inch maps. surveyed 1890-1893, published 1892/1894. The additional structure on the riverside walk is visible in red. (National Library of Scotland CC-BY).

Figure 10: Clifton Castle main entrance with the remodelled carriage sweep. The service block is visible to the right (Reproduced by permission of Lord Downshire).

Figure 11: The stables (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 12: Composite extract of adjacent Ordnance Survey 25” inch maps. surveyed 1927, published 1929, showing the later orchard (National Library of Scotland CC-BY).

Figure 13: One of the summerhouses in the riverside woods (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 14: One entrance to the grotto or tunnel on the riverside walk (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 15: Cascade and avenue created 2000-3 (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 16: The Bank - looking down towards the riverside (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 17: The eastern end of the riverside walk looking west (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 18: One of the bridges over the eastern gill with small waterfall below (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 19: The walled garden showing the different heights in the southern section (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 20: Buttresses along the outside of the western wall of the kitchen garden (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 21: The moon gate, constructed 1891, from inside the walled garden, looking towards the mansion along the service wing (image: M. Mathews).

Figure 22: The vinery renewed in 1907/8. The tree is approximately where the dipping pond was located (image: M. Mathews).