The original Beningbrough estate was granted by Henry VIII to John Banister in 1544, but it was the Bourchier family who built the current house which was completed by 1716.
This is a remarkable Baroque house with a rich decorative scheme and displaying magnificent woodcarvings which are still the chief glory of Beningbrough Hall. The house has changed little from its date of construction in 1716.
On the death of the subsequent owners, the Earl and Countess of Chesterfield, the house was passed to the National Trust in 1957 but only infrequently opened to the public until 1977. It now houses a large collection of late seventeenth and eighteenth century paintings loaned by the National Portrait gallery.
The surroundings are impressive with a large walled garden and with views of the river below. There is a restaurant and shop onsite.
