The new house from a 19th century postcard
Earlier Houses: The Elizabethan house was demolished in 1818 and replaced by the current Victorian house.
Built / Designed For: Sir George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland.
House & Family History: Richard Boyle, the famous 3rd Earl of Burlington, spent much time at Londesborough and probably altered the House to his own designs in the 18th century. The Londesborough Estate passed into the ownership of the dukes of Devonshire in 1753 through Lord Burlington's only surviving child, Charlotte, who had married the man who would become the 4th Duke of Devonshire in 1748. The 6th Duke of Devonshire (the famous Bachelor Duke), shackled by enormous debts from work at his other houses, demolished Londesborough Hall in 1818 and used some of the material for new building activities at Chatsworth, his primary seat. Some house furnishings from Londesborough were moved to Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, another of the duke's homes. After the demolition of the House the Londesborough Estate remained in the ownership of the 6th Duke until 1847, when he sold, to raise more funds to reduce his debts, the Londesborough Estate to railroad entrepreneur George Hudson. Some remains of the cellars of the House are still visible, as well as some 18th century gatepiers.
Garden & Outbuildings: A Long Avenue, probably designed by Robert Hooke circa 1660-70, was replanted in the 1970s. The Orangery, a seven-bay brick building of circa 1700, is extant and today in the farmyard of Londesborough Hall Farm.
Architect: Robert Hooke
Date: 1676-78Architect: William Kent
Date: 1720sArchitect: John Etty
Date: 1672-73
Title: Buildings of England: Yorkshire: York and the East Riding, The
Author: Pevsner, Nikolaus; John Hutchinson (Contributor)
Year Published: 1972
Reference: pg. 306
Publisher: London: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0140710.434
Book Type: Hardback
Title: Hardwick Hall Guidebook
Author: Girouard, Mark
Year Published: 1996
Publisher: London: The National Trust
ISBN: 0707800986
Book Type: Softback
House Listed: Demolished
Park Listed: Grade II*
Current Seat / Home of: Ashwin family
Past Seat / Home of: Sir George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, late 16th-early 17th centuries. Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington and 2nd Earl of Cork, 17th century. William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, 19th century; Cavendish family here from 1753 until 1819. George Hudson, 19th century. Albert Denison Denison, 1st Baron Londesborough, 19th century.
Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust
Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home
Ownership Details: The Victorian house on the Londesborough Estate is today a private residence.
House Open to Public: No
Historic Houses Member: No