Broughton Sanctuary: History of 900-year-old Yorkshire Dales estate featured in All Creatures Great and Small and Gentleman Jack

Broughton Hall, now named Broughton Sanctuary, is a Georgian country house in Broughton, Craven, and the estate houses more than 50 businesses employing more than 700 people.

The estate also offers woodlands, ponds, vast countryside, rivers, historic farmstead and interiors of all houses across centuries.

The Hall has been used to film scenes for the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great and Small. It was transformed into the home of Mrs Pumphrey, owner of Tricki-Woo, a character based on the socialite Marjorie Warner who was a client of James Herriot.

It has also been used to film the feature film The Banishing, BBC drama Gentleman Jack and the 2003 film Calendar Girls.

While the house itself was built in the 16th century, the estate dates further back to the 11th century.

History of Broughton Hall Estate

The estate was established in 1097 and has been the home to the Tempest family for more than 900 years.

Its history proves that it is necessary to learn from the past in order to transform, evolve and adapt to present and future times.

The Tempest family are thought to have come to England from Normandy during William the Conqueror’s 1066 invasion of England and were given land following the invasion.

The Tempests are considered to be one of England’s oldest Catholic landed gentry families. The current owner, Roger Tempest, is the 32nd Tempest in a recorded line dating back to the 11th century.

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A document from the 14th century includes the acquisition of a house, watermill and part of the manor of Broughton by Sir John Tempest.

The oldest parts of the current building dates to 1597, and it was altered in 1755, the pedimented end wings were added to the main structure for Stephen Tempest to designs by William Atkinson.

Sir Charles Tempest, Bt, refaced the north front in golden Kendal stone and added a portico, to designs by George Webster, an architect of the dynasty of masons at Kendal, Cumbria.

A conservatory was added in 1853 and the park was landscaped in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Andrew Nestfield designed the historic formal gardens filled with statues, ponds, parterres and fountains in the mid-19th century and was inspired by 18th century fashion.

The philosophy behind the recent name change from Broughton Hall Estate to Broughton Sanctuary is the importance of consistently transforming and evolving through learning from the past.

Its mission is to be a regenerative space rooted in the nature and wellbeing of humanity and the planet.