Harrington: Hall, Park and Literary History

Harrington brings together architectural history, literature and a varied parkland landscape, alongside a cycling route through the valleys of the Lymn and Waring rivers. The village is home to Harrington Hall and its park; the Church of St Mary and Harrington Carr add ecclesiastical architectural history and woodland to the picture. You can shape your stay around your own interests: focus on the historic place or include the route and its landscape in your travel plans.

Country house, parish church and literary history

The Church of St Mary in Harrington is a Grade II* listed parish church. Harrington Hall, also in the village, is a country house built for the Copledykes in the late 16th century. The church and the country house offer different ways to explore the past: St Mary is distinguished by its listed status, while Harrington Hall is defined by its date of construction and its builders.

Harrington Hall is also associated with Tennyson. He wrote poems here to Rosa Baring (Maud), who lived in the house. The literary connection is a tangible one, linking the poet, the resident and the place where he wrote. For anyone including literary history in their trip, it offers a distinct way to discover Harrington alongside its architectural history.

Gardens, park and woodland

The registered parkland of Harrington Hall includes 17th- and 18th-century gardens within a 19th-century park. The sequence of dates makes for an illuminating contrast: the gardens predate the park surrounding them. Harrington Hall and its park together cover approximately 25 hectares and are located in the village of Harrington.

Harrington Carr offers a different kind of landscape. It is recorded as a semi-natural woodland and is probably ancient woodland. This places the dated gardens and park alongside a woodland whose status as ancient woodland remains explicitly probable. For travel planning, this offers a distinction between a parkland landscape shaped by successive periods of history and woodland whose history is described with appropriate caution.

Cycling route and views of Harrington Hall

The Horncastle to Harrington cycling route follows country roads, crosses the A158 and includes a footbridge over a ford. It also runs along narrow carriageways through the valleys of the Lymn and Waring rivers. These specific features give the route its character without limiting it to a single type of landscape.

Harrington Hall can be seen from the Lindsey Trail. This brings two different perspectives together: the cycling route through the river valleys and views of the country house from the Lindsey Trail. When planning your trip, you can decide whether to focus on the cycling route or the views of Harrington Hall.

Harrington as a starting point for finding a holiday rental

When choosing a holiday rental in Harrington, start by considering your travel priorities: do you want architectural and literary history to shape your stay, or would you like to include a cycling stage on the Horncastle to Harrington route? The parkland and Harrington Carr add different landscape themes to the choice. This lets you tailor your search to your plans and decide how you would like to discover Harrington: through its historical connections, its landscape or an active leg of your trip.

Discover more destinations: Keelby, Swineshead, Norton Disney, South Hykeham, Coningsby, Wragby, Metheringham, Langworth.

For the broader travel overview: Lincolnshire.