Rejoicing in Ripon: Fountains Hall in the frame for the coming summer season

The National Trust, which cares for the World Heritage Site of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, has put one of its lesser‑known treasures firmly in the spotlight for the coming holiday season ✨.

Fountains Hall — an intriguing yet often overlooked building partly constructed from the ruined stone of Fountains Abbey — bridges the turbulent years between the Dissolution and the 18th‑century heyday of Studley Royal 📜➡️🎩.

Across more than 400 years, the Hall has served as a manorial court ⚖️, a Catholic chapel ✝️, a family home 🏡 and later accommodation for estate workers. Its rooms have witnessed political upheaval, religious tension and generations of everyday life — yet it has long been overshadowed by the dramatic abbey ruins nearby. This year, the National Trust is inviting visitors to rediscover the Hall as the beating heart of the estate for over three centuries ❤️.

🚪 More rooms open to visitors — supported by new Room Guide Volunteers

For the first time in over a decade, additional rooms inside Fountains Hall are now open to the public 🙌. These newly accessible spaces allow visitors to explore deeper into the building’s past and understand how its rooms evolved through different eras. A new team of Room Guide Volunteers will welcome visitors and share stories that bring the Hall’s history vividly to life 🗣️✨.

🖼️ The Mallory portrait returns after nearly 50 years

The large‑scale portrait of Sir John Mallory and his family, owners of Studley Royal from the 1400s, has returned to Fountains Hall after almost five decades 🎨. When the estate came into National Trust care in the 1980s, the painting was too fragile to remain on site and was moved to Beningbrough Hall for safekeeping.

Following months of detailed conservation by Critchlow and Kukkonen Ltd 🔍, the portrait is now hanging proudly in the Great Chamber. Visitors can admire its impressive scale and intricate details while learning more about the conservation process and the mysteries that still surround the painting 🕵️‍♂️.

Helen Fawbert, Collections and House Manager for National Trust Fountains Abbey, says:

“Welcoming the Mallory portrait into Fountains Hall is incredibly special… displaying the painting in the Great Chamber allows visitors to experience it in a space that is largely contemporary with its date.”

🌸 New interpretation: Petals of the Past – Families Through Time

A new interpretation, Petals of the Past, presents the Hall’s history through floral installations designed by Anice Neville 🌺. Drawing on the secret language of flowers, the displays highlight the stories of those who lived here — from the Gresham family, who built a small hunting lodge on the site, to the Vyner family, the last private owners.

Visitors will encounter stories of former occupants such as Sir Stephen Proctor, who used the Great Chamber as his court in the early 1600s ⚖️, and the Messenger family, who later worshipped there after securing a licence in 1663 🙏. These contrasting uses help explain the Hall’s unusual character, shaped by centuries of adaptation.

The journey culminates in the Great Chamber, where visitors can view the newly restored Mallory portrait in its historic setting 🖼️✨.

Through expanded access, the return of a significant portrait and a new sensory visitor experience, the National Trust is shining a spotlight on Fountains Hall as a place of people, stories and lived experience 🌟. Visitors are invited to explore why this building — often overshadowed by the abbey ruins — was, for 300 years, the true heart of the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate ❤️.

Lilla Bathurst, Manager of Ripon BID, told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon blog:

“It is fantastic for our city and wider Ripon district to see more visitor facilities and greater accessibility at the World Heritage Site and BID member that is on our doorstep.”

Lilla added:

“This is yet another significant development that adds to the world‑class visitor attraction, while putting Ripon further up the table of must‑visit places where heritage and history can be found in abundance.” 🌍✨

Fountains Hall                                                     The restored painting

Photo credits: Jenni Shepherd