Burton Agnes: Family that’s forever to the manor born

The lower chamber of Manor House, which remarkably has never changed hands by sale, can still be seen on the striking three-storey pink-red bricked building with a 15th century roof and pink-red bricked outer shell dating to the outset of the 17th century from Maypole Hill, despite appearing almost sandwiched between two grander grade I listed properties.

The 12th century undercroft of the English Heritage-run property, which has a spectacular vaulted ceiling, has peg holes marked for Nine Men's Morris, a strategy board game for two players, dating back to at least the Roman Empire, on its westernmost pier.

To one side of the Norman home, which is open daily from April to October, stands the Parish Church of St Martin, which holds Holy Communion services on the first Sunday in the month.

The Magnesian limestone ashlar church pre-dates the Manor House, with 11th century origins and a mid-12th century north arcade. It features numerous monuments, including a tomb decorated with quatrefoils to Roger de Somerville and his wife Maud, who died in 1317 and 1337 respectively.

On the other side of the Manor House stands the largest of the three historic properties, the Elizabethan three-storied Burton Agnes Hall.

The property, which has been described as a "perfectly proportioned example of Tudor Renaissance architecture", was designed by Robert Smythson, the architect of properties such as Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire and Longleat in Wiltshire.

Ir was buily by Sir Henry Griffith, who was 15 when he inherited the Burton Agnes estate. His son Henry was among the King's supporters during the Civil War and surrendered three weeks after the Battle of Marston Moor.

The hall is said to be haunted "with tremendous noise and upheaval" by the ghost of Katherine Anne Griffith, whose portrait hangs in the Inner Hall and died in the Queen's State Bedroom there in 1620. She is said to have died after being robbed near St John's Well, south-east of the village, which is said to have never run dry and was believed to have healing properties. Her skull is said to have been built into one of the hall's walls to grant her wish to watch over her home.

The hall's current owner, Simon Cunliffe-Lister, who inherited the estate aged 12, lives at the hall with his wife Olivia, and their five children Islay, Joss, Otis, Inigo and Sholto, host a number of events at the property. The 19th Burton Agnes Jazz and Blues Festival, which began in 2007, will be staged in July 2026, with a main stage on the hall's manicured lawn. Fine art experts say the hall's array of 19th century French paintings, which was collected by its previous owner Marcus Wickham-Boynton is among the most impressive outside London. The paintings range from the work of Impressionists Pissaro and Renoir and Post Impressionists Gauguin and Matisse to leading English artists, including Augustus John and Jacob Epstein.

Artists links with the village go back a long way. Three years ago a 5,000-year-old chalk sculpture was found in the grave of three children near the village. The Burton Agnes drum has been hailed as "the most important piece of prehistoric art" uncovered in Britain in a century.

Local residents say Victoria Fields, the grounds of the nearby Burton Agnes Sports Club, on the other side of the lane to Rudston, were named after Queen Victoria, who halted her retinue there while approaching the grand estate for an overnight stay at the hall. Groups based at the club include the Archers of Bridlington and Burton Agnes, whose members are able to shoot most days of the week subject to availability of the sports field, which is also used by football, bowls and cricket clubs.

Along the Rudston Road, towards the more developed part of the village, a proposal has recently been put forward to build a development of nine affordable homes on St Martin's Drive. Planning documents detail how seven of the nine properties would be offered as social rent, and would be "primarily for residents with a connection to the Burton Agnes area and are on the housing needs list".

Such schemes are viewed as crucial to maintain facilities such as the nearby Burton Agnes Primary School, which has previously been named among the highest fliers in the national key stage 2 table for 11-year-olds and as the top performer in the East Riding after 100 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in the SATs tests.

Opposite the junction of the Rudston Road and the main A166 stands the village's former hotel, The Bluebell, which has been converted into a spacious holiday home, accommodating over 50 guests. It's not the village's only large scale holiday home. The formerly Victorian granary and railway warehouse has been converted to take up to 18 guests. Nearby, there's a large spring-fed duck pond, overlooked by an early Victorian Wesleyan chapel and an impressive stone cross war memorial.

The pond has been the focus of much debate in the village due to water levels and birds getting killed crossing the main road. The village had its own railway station for the 124 years until 1970. The level crossing in the village was the scene of a disaster in 1947 when ten German prisoners who had yet to be repatriated to their home country after the Second World War and two British Army sergeants in a military vehicle were killed after being hit by an express train.