England · Partial ruin
Hornby Castle
Hornby Castle is a Grade I listed fortified manor house in Hornby, North Yorkshire. The surviving building is the south range of a larger complex that was remodelled several times and largely demolished in the 20th century; the property remains a private residence with surrounding parkland.
Its prime
1811
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1811
The shape it held in its prime.
A continuous fortified-manor silhouette of coursed sandstone rubble with lead and stone-slate roofs: a tall, square, battlemented tower rises above a crenellated south range, low linked ranges with regular rectangular windows and stone chimneys, and a crenellated curtain wall partly covered in ivy. The complex sits on a gentle rise above parkland and orchard, with a broad lawn and fields in the foreground; roofs are pitched with stone slates and low parapets at the skyline.
Its story
The story of Hornby Castle.
At the end of the 14th century Hornby belonged to the St Quintin family, until the heiress Margaret Quintin married John Conyers (died 1422). William, 1st Baron Conyers, largely rebuilt the castle in the fifteenth century, retaining the fourteenth-century St Quintin's tower named after the previous owners. On the death of John, 3rd Baron Conyers, in 1557 the estate passed to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Darcy.
The castle descended in the Darcy family, made Earls of Holderness in 1682. During the Civil War it was taken by Colonel Ralph Assheton, commander-in-chief of Parliamentary forces in North Lancashire, but an order to slight it was not carried out. In the 1760s John Carr of York largely rebuilt the house for the 4th Earl of Holderness, adding the surviving south range.
The 4th Earl's heiress Amelia married Francis Osborne, later 5th Duke of Leeds, and on her death in 1784 the estate passed to her son George, 6th Duke; after Kiveton Hall was demolished in 1811 Hornby became the main seat of the Dukes of Leeds until the 9th Duke. The St Quintin tower came down in 1927 and the east range in the 1930s, leaving the Grade I listed south range as a private residence.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1811.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Hornby Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Hornby Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1811 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Hornby Castle.
The families that held Hornby Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
St Quintin
Owners of Hornby at the end of the 14th century, until heiress Margaret Quintin married John Conyers (died 1422); their tower stood until 1927.
Conyers
Held by the Conyers from Margaret Quintin's marriage until the death of John, 3rd Baron Conyers, in 1557; the 1st Baron largely rebuilt the castle.
Darcy
Descended in the Darcy family, Earls of Holderness from 1682, from 1557 until the death of Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, in 1778.
Osborne
Passed by marriage to the Osbornes, Dukes of Leeds, in 1784; from 1811 Hornby was their main seat until the time of the 9th Duke.
