NOSS-tul

England

West Yorkshire

Wakefield

53.677631

-1.50951

1733

1785

Fully Extant

Grade I

Grade II*

No

C. IV, pls. 70-73, 1767.

2.S. Vol. II, p. 218, 1855.

XXI, 594, 1907. XXXVI, 582 plan, 684 [Furniture], 1914. CXI, 1248 [Furniture], 1492, 1572, 1652 plan, 1952. CXII, 1028 [Furniture], 1952.

Vol. V, 1822.

Yes

01924-863-892

01924-866-846

The National Trust

Visitor Attraction

Lord St. Oswald; Winn family here since 1650.

James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy, 16th century. Gargrave family, 16th century.

There was a 12th century priory on the site of the present house.

Sir Rowland Winn, 4th Bt.

The original monastic buildings at Nostell were converted into a house in 1540 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Augustinian Canons who founded the Priory dedicated it to St. Oswald, the King of Northumbria, who was killed in battle in 642 (the Winn family title of Baron St. Oswald is taken from this bit of Nostell history). Cardinal Wolsey held a confirmation at the Priory in 1530. In 1650 the Winn family acquired the Estate and have held it ever since, with the current Lord St. Oswald and his family still living in the House today (2012). The family fortune was started by George Wynne (1560-1610), who was draper to Queen Elizabeth I. Sir Roland Winn, 4th Baronet, commissioned a local antiquary to transcribe the "Nostell Act Book," an early 16th century book now housed in the Muniment Room at Nostell. The House design is based on the Villa Mocenigo by Palladio and it's very likely that Sir Rowland was advised in the design of the House by Lord Burlington and Colen Campbell. The designs for Nostell were probably done by James Moyser, though they were carried out and altered by James Paine. Paine also did many of the interiors, including the State Bedchamber, the Dining Room, and the two Staircases. Robert Adam was employed by Sir Rowland, the 5th Baronet, to finish off many of the interiors (Adam's state rooms at Nostell are among the finest examples of his interiors) and design many outbuildings. Nostell is particularly famous for its Chippendale furniture; the artist designed and executed over 100 pieces (almost all of which still exist at Nostell) of furniture expressly for the House between 1766 and 1776. The famous six-foot-high 18th century dolls’ house, with its original furnishings, was made circa 1735 for the children of the 4th Baronet and is believed to be by Thomas Chippendale. Nostell Priory was given to The National Trust in 1953. In 1986 the Chippendale furniture and other contents were transferred to The National Trust by the Family, with the aid of a £6.1 million grant from The National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Nostell houses one of England’s best collections (and the best documented) of Chippendale furniture, designed especially for the House (the furniture was purchased for The National Trust with National Heritage Memorial Funds of £6,102,360, and remains in situ). There is also an outstanding art collection, with works by Angelica Kauffmann, Holbein’s "The Family of Sir Thomas Moore," and Pieter Brueghel the Younger's "The Procession to Calvary." The remarkable 18th century dolls' house, complete with its original fittings and Chippendale-style furniture, is one of the stars of Nostell, as is the John Harrison long-case clock with its extremely rare movement made of wood. A sale of some contents was held Apr 30 and May 1, 1990 by Christie's.

The grounds were laid out by Stephen Switzer, circa 1731. Robert Adam designed lodges, garden buildings, and gates (he also re-designed the West and South ranges of the Stables). The Adam Gate and Lodge at Featherstone Moor is in the form of a large pyramid, dated 1776. Switzer’s Orangery, Greenhouse, and Belvedere have all been demolished. The Menagerie, a little Gothic building, survives today; Robert Adam may have designed two small wings for it. The original Wakefield-Doncaster Bridge was designed by Sir George Savile, a Yorkshire neighbor, in 1761.