Hauntings Of Thirsk Hall Fri 23rd May 2026

Thirsk Hall is a Grade II* listed manor house in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, dating from 1720. The house has been held by the Bell family for c. 300 years, and since 2021 also hosts a sculpture park.

In 1722/23 the member of parliament Ralph Bell bought the manor of Thirsk for the sum of £6,300 (equivalent to £1,251,883 in 2023) from the 10th Earl of Derby.

At the time the hall was constructed it had two storeys and five bays. Bell lived in the then new-built home, Thirsk Hall, located on Kirkgate next to St Marys Church. Following his death in 1733 Bell left his estate to his nephew Ralph Consett, who then changed his surname to Bell. Some years later a descendent, also named Ralph Bell, married Ann Conyers. Conyers, who desired a dining room, financed an extension to the hall in 1770. The Palladian architect John Carr was employed to add a third floor and two wings.

The house was furnished by Gillows, and the artist Thomas Gainsborough painted portraits of both Bell and Conyers. The ceiling of the ground floor room in the right wing, designed by Carr, has been described as "very fine". Thirsk Hall has 20 acres of grounds comprising gardens, parkland, and woodland.