Howsham Hall is a stately home in Howsham, North Yorkshire, England, built in the early 17th century. The hall is now a grade I listed building.
The Hall was built on the site of a previous manor house using stone from the nearby Kirkham Priory following its dissolution under Henry VIII. The house was completed somewhere between 1608 and 1610. The cellar is Norman and the main part of the house is Elizabethan, however the structure of the building has been altered over the years. There is a Georgian brick extension at the back of the house and some of the windows have been altered so they have larger panes in the Georgian style.
It was for many years the seat of the Cholmeley family from 1610-1949. The grandfather of Karl Pearson lived there. (He was reputedly the illegitimate son of Nathaniel Cholmeley.)
In the grounds are three Giant Sequoia trees arranged in a triangle. These were given to a limited number of country estates in the seventeenth century.Sequoias were unknow to european horticuture till the middle of the 19th century, post the California goldrush. The old gates for the estate are several miles away towards York and have been recently restored.
The building is affected by the Curse of Kirkham, the curse states that "All male heirs of the estate would perish [and] that true happiness would never come to that family or its successors".
The House and estate is currently up for sale for £5,000,000.[1]
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Howsham Hall was bought in 1956 by John Knock. It had been due to be demolished by the council, but in 1958 it opened as an independent boys' school. In 1997 the school introduced both girls and day pupils. The school was closed on 6 July 2007 at the end of the Summer Term due to dwindling pupil numbers.[2] The School's motto was Potentes Virtute (Strength In Courage). In 1997 the school introduced both girls and day pupils increasing school numbers to around 60.
The subjects that the school taught were French, Maths, English, Latin, Poetry, History, Debating, Singing, R.E., Ancient History, Hand Writing, Art, Geography, I.T. and Science. Drama was also offered to pupils up until year 7. The school also offered music lessons. The total number of pupils was approximately 60 which meant that each year had around 10 pupils in each year group. This meant that class sizes were small as well. Howsham Hall was a Roman Catholic school and had a morning and evening service every weekday and mass on Sunday. In the Autumn and Spring terms boys played rugby, with the school fielding a 1st XI and an U11s team. Pupils also did cross country on Mondays culminating a 7 mile run at the end of the spring term called the "championship" an inter house competition. In the summer term boys did cricket with the school fielding 2 teams senior and junior and the girls did rounders. Horse riding was also offered on Tuesday afternoons and Swimming was done up until year 7 (Form 2) on Friday morning at Pickering. The school also offered occasional canoeing, shooting and sailing.
In 1998 allegations of abuse were brought against the school by a former pupil.[3][4] The allegations included the beating of pupils with straps, pupils being made to stand in cold baths for hours, public humiliation of bed-wetters and censorship of letters home,[3] however none of these allegations were proven and were subsequently dropped after numerous testemonials from other former pupils.
When Kirkham Priory was demolished following the Protestant Reformation, the stones were taken away by a local family and used in the construction of Howsham Hall. It is said that true happiness would never come to the that family or its successors. This is the legend associated with Howsham Hall. The Bamburughs constructed the house using stones, timbers and other material from the Priory. This was considered sacrilege at the time so it is said that a curse was placed on Howsham Hall and the people that owned it. The curse stated that "All male heirs of the estate would perish". The Bamburugh family died out because of the lack of male heirs, the Wentworth intermarried with the Bamburughs and they too became extinct. The family that became owners next, the Cholmelys also became extinct, and the Stricklands have only one female member of the family left. The next family to buy the house were the Knocks, so far the legend continues as Anthony Knock died after losing a battle with cancer in 2004.[2] The curse continues.