Shandy Hall and Gardens

Overview

About Shandy Hall and Gardens

Why stop

A lively tour that brings Sterne and the house to life
Two acres of quirky garden, quarry and wildlife

Heads up

House access is limited to scheduled tours
The garden is informal and can feel untidy

A Grade I listed medieval hall house from around 1430, continuously inhabited for nearly 600 years, and the home of Laurence Sterne, who lived here from 1760 to 1768 as perpetual curate of Coxwold and wrote books, sermons, journals and letters during those years. It works as a lived-in museum rather than a roped-off period display, run by the Laurence Sterne Trust, which was set up in 1964 to open the house to the public.

Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop

Map

Where it is

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SightShandy Hall and Gardens54.18870, -1.18751

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Plan your stop

Before you go

Best time to go

House tours are seasonally scheduled, with public tours in the May to September season on weekends and Bank Holidays, while the gardens are generally open on more days within that season. Outside public times, a visit may still be possible by appointment. The durable advice: check the advertised opening times and enquire or book ahead for a house tour, and if you mainly want the gardens, allow for a day when the house is not touring.

Access, facilities and dogs

Facilities are shop, toilets, lawns and seats, with limited parking at the Hall and free parking in the village.
The car park and the path toward the shop are gravel; there is a small step into the shop and two steps into the room below the gallery.
The toilet can be reached without steps from the car park but has a small step at its entrance, and is reached by steps from the garden. The nearest accessible WC is in the Village Hall, about half a mile away.
Accessible parking can be reserved in advance.
Dogs on short leads in the gardens; assistance dogs only in the house and gallery.

8 active North York Moors alerts

ClosureHawnby Bridleway 110 closurePublic Bridleway 25.122/110/1 in Hawnby is closed to pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians because its bridge is unsafe. - The closure is between grid references SE 5309 9073 and SE 5335 9097.Official details
ClosureWest Ayton Footpath 1 closurePublic Footpath 1 in West Ayton (Forge Valley) is temporarily closed because its boardwalk is unsafe. - The closure is between SE 9860 8494 and SE 9839 8712.Official details

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North York Moors Tour Guide

Your drive to Shandy Hall and Gardens, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for North York Moors National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this place

Shandy Hall and Gardens

0:00 / 0:30

“You're approaching Shandy Hall in Coxwold, the medieval house where writer Laurence Sterne lived while serving as the village's curate.”

Plays as you drive up to Shandy Hall and Gardens in the Parkwolf North York Moors Tour Guide.

More about Shandy Hall and Gardens

Inside the houseThe study where Sterne wrote is preserved.

The study where Sterne wrote is preserved.
The world's largest collection of editions of Sterne's works.
Rooms of paintings, prints, furniture and objects, plus contemporary art made in response to Sterne.
Access is by guided tour only. Visitors repeatedly report the tour as fascinating and well informed, and it makes sense even if you have never read Tristram Shandy.

The gardensThe two acres of gardens are a separate attraction surrounding the house, part cottage garden…

The two acres of gardens are a separate attraction surrounding the house, part cottage garden and part woodland garden, including a former disused stone quarry now called the Wild Garden, incorporated in the 1990s. Julia Monkman's planting brought in over 100 roses and unusual perennials. Set expectations correctly: this is a compact and deliberately informal, untamed garden, not a grand formal landscape, and some visitors find the upkeep looser than they would like. The paths give different prospects of the house, and you are encouraged to wander and make digressions.

WildlifeManagement here puts wildlife first.

Management here puts wildlife first. Records for the grounds include red kites, buzzards, kestrels, treecreepers and firecrests, along with stoats, squirrels, voles, badgers, deer, foxes, hares and bats, plus fungi, wild plants and nearly 450 moth species. There is a rookery in the Wild Garden. Treat all of this as possibility rather than a guaranteed sighting list.

Practical notes and limitationsPhotography is not allowed inside the house.

Photography is not allowed inside the house.
There is no cafe on site, so bring your own drinks or plan to eat elsewhere.
Visitor experience suggests roughly two hours covers house and gardens, as an approximate planning guide rather than a fixed duration.
The Shandy Shop sells second-hand books, plants, small antiques, bric-a-brac and Sterne-related souvenirs.
Bring sturdy shoes for gravel and uneven woodland and quarry ground, plus waterproofs, since the garden visit is entirely outdoors.

Wildlife

Wildlife in North York Moors

All North York Moors wildlife maps

15 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

10 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

79 sightingsGrey SealMost seen around noonSighting map

26 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

33 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

10 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around noonSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across North York Moors. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.