The historic buildings in Yorkshire that have been turned into quirky holiday lets

The county is full of interesting historic buildings that have been converted into holiday accommodation. Here are some of the more unusual:-

Cawood Castle

Cawood Castle is a 15th-century fortified medieval palace near Selby. It was dismantled after the Civil War, and only the gatehouse and banqueting hall survive.

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The gatehouse was a courthouse until the 1930s, then an officers' mess and a Home Guard post during World War Two.

The Landmark Trust charity have now restored the gatehouse and opened it as a holiday home. The banqueting hall is not habitable.

The old Castle Garth is now an open space in the heart of the village, with medieval fish ponds.

The Pigsty

The Pigsty doesn't look like a regular farm building - but pigs once really were kept there.

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The Grade II-listed wooden building near Robin Hood's Bay was completed in the late 19th century, and was intended as a folly inspired by Mediterranean architecture.

It's now another Landmark Trust holiday property.

The Ruin at Hackfall Wood

Hackfall Wood is an 18th-century pleasure ground laid out in a gorge of the River Ure near Masham. The woods are full of water features, pools, waterfalls, trails and follies - including The Ruin, which is based on a castle. Although part of the roof has collapsed, the remaining parts of the building are rented out by the Landmark Trust.

Cowside, Langstrothdale

Cowside is a preserved, almost unaltered 17th-century farmhouse with piggery and henhouse in the middle of the Dales. It's also home to several unusual wall paintings, and can be booked for holidays.

Beamsley Hospital

Although not a hospital in the modern sense of the word, Beamsley, near Skipton, was built as a charity almshouse in 1593. It provided housing for local widows. It remained in use until the 1970s, when the trustees gave the property to the Landmark Trust for conversion into holiday accommodation.

Culloden Tower

The Culloden Tower, near Richmond, was built as a folly in 1746. There are four storeys and a roof terrace linked by a spiral staircase. The stately home and estate on which it was built was demolished in 1823, but the tower was left to decay, and became vulnerable to vandalism. It was restored in 1981 by the Landmark Trust, and can be hired.

Lendal Tower, York

Lendal Tower, on the east bank of the Ouse, once formed part of York's medieval defences. It later became a waterworks and offices.

It was built in 1300, and controlled access to the city by acting as a tollhouse. There was another tower, Barker Tower, and a ferry ran between them until Lendal Bridge was built in 1863.

For many years it served as an engine house for the pumping of water, and from 1932 it was an office.

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In 2010 it was refurbished as a holiday let.

Station House, Sawdon

Sawdon Station once served the village of Brompton-by-Sawdon on the Pickering to Seamer branch line, near Scarborough. It closed in 1950, and afterwards was completely restored and opened as holiday accommodation. The old platforms and still there and the track-bed has become the garden.

The Windmill, Scarborough

The 230-year-old building is the last remaining windmill in the Scarborough area. It's Grade II-listed and is now a family-run bed and breakfast establishment.

The Boathouse, Whitby

Guests have to cross a gangplank to access this old pump house in the middle of Whitby Harbour, which can be booked for holidays.

Whitby Lighthouse

Whitby Lighthouse is no longer operational, but is still run by Trinity House. The light was first lit in 1858. There were once two twin light towers, but Whitby North was demolished, leaving Whitby South. A pair of lighthouse keepers' cottages were built next to the towers.

A fog signal was later installed at the site and was used from 1903 until 1987. The trumpets remain mounted on the roof, and the cottages can be hired by holidaymakers.