Hackness: Manor House, Landscape and Historical Discoveries

Hackness combines an impressive historic cultural landscape with unusual details for curious travellers. Two clearly separate settlement centres lie along Back Race Beck, with a wooded strip between them that physically and visually separates the two areas. Anyone looking for a holiday apartment or holiday cottage in Hackness will therefore find a place whose appeal lies not only in individual sights, but also in its evolved structure.

Manor House and Designed Landscape

Hackness Hall is at the heart of the area's history. This Grade I-listed country house was built between 1791 and 1796. The extension wings and a new entrance were added in 1810; following a fire in 1910, the building was restored by Walter Brierley. This architectural history makes Hackness Hall an informative destination for anyone wishing to connect architecture with historical developments.

The surrounding landscape is also independently interesting. It was created within a single generation at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century and is regarded as an almost complete example of landscape design from its period. Most of its features, as well as some of the historic planting, have survived. A paved water channel also runs along the road from Hackness. It forms part of the water-management system of the designed landscape at Hackness Hall dating from the late 18th century. Elements such as these draw attention to the connection between architecture, terrain and water management.

Church, Monuments and Older Traces

The park at Hackness preserves the earthworks of an Elizabethan manor house and its probably medieval predecessor. Another prominent stop is St Peter’s Church. It stands on the site of a nunnery founded in the 7th century by St Hilda of Whitby and is Grade I listed. Tourists and other visitors are welcome at the services. When planning a trip, therefore, attending a service provides the appropriate opportunity to get to know the church.

Hackness Cross is also a rare, intricately carved Anglo-Saxon monument dating from the 8th century. Hackness Rock Pit, also known as Hackness Quarry, offers another perspective on the landscape. The quarry is the Typort of the Hackness Rock Member of the Osgodby Formation and lies in the area where William Smith first identified and mapped the “Hackness Rock”. Cultural history and geological history therefore stand side by side here, without Hackness being confined to just one era.

Exploring on Foot and Choosing the Right Starting Point

The approximately 48-mile-long Tabular Hills Walk runs from Scalby to Helmsley via Hackness and then continues towards Thornton-le-Dale. Its approximate length and route also make the area interesting for walkers who would like to combine the idea of a longer long-distance hike with a historic stay. The right holiday accommodation in Hackness can then be chosen primarily according to the desired pace of travel and the preferred blend of landscape and history.

Discover More Places

If you would like to extend your travel plans beyond Hackness, you can also explore Sand Hutton, Malton, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Malham, Brafferton, Cononley, Egton and Norton. Hackness is particularly well suited to those who want to bring historic buildings, a designed landscape and a distinctive walking route together in one travel idea.

For the higher-level travel overview: North Yorkshire.