Grimston Park Estate

Grimston Park is a picturesque estate one mile south of Tadcaster, mid-way between York and Leeds. Nearby lies the site of the battle of Towton, fought on Palm Sunday 1461 and the bloodiest battle fought on English soil. Over 20,000 died and it was a pivotal event in the Wars of the Roses, being a victory for the Yorkists. There has been a settlement at Grimston since Viking times and during the Middle Ages it was a valuable manor. In 1812 the house and the Estate was bought by the first Lord Howden and it was his son who was responsible for the present house in 1839.

He commissioned the architect Decimus Burton to create an Italianate palace for his Russian wife, the Princess Bagration, complete with large pleasure grounds, formal statuary and a very large Riding School. However, after eleven years the Howdens divorced and the Estate was sold to the first Lord Londesborough in 1851. The Fielden family bought the Estate from him in 1872 and they are still the present owners.