The fascinating story of the building of the house can be told through the records that survive within the archive collection of Stancliffe family letters and papers held at the County Record Office [ ZXW ]. This collection includes documents and correspondence relating to the purchase of Sion Hill in by Percy and Ethel Stancliffe, the subsequent demolition of the existing house and the building of a new house between and , designed by Walter H.
Brierley of York. The archive sheds light on the various people involved and the relationships between them: Percy Stancliffe; his agent: H. Brierley and the builder: Thomas Lumsden of Jarrow-on-Tyne. From these, we can see that Stancliffe was an exacting, and at times trying, client and that Brierley was a busy, yet extremely thorough, patient and accommodating architect, who responded promptly to letters and telegrams.
He visited site regularly throughout the period of construction and made changes to the design at the request of his client, whilst diplomatically expressing his reservations about doing so. Following the death of the Hon. Stancliffe was interested in Sion Hill, the gardens, pleasure grounds, mansion, out offices, buildings, yards and stables, road and eight cottages in Kirby Wiske village.
Samuelson, who took the lead on the purchase, was interested in Breckenbrough Castle Farm and land to the south of the Wiske. So they withdrew the property and asked me to come up and talk to them.
One, the Hon. Prior to the Hon. The Kirby Wiske tithe map of and a watercolour of see below provide us with an indication of the extent of the estate and the footprint of the house at the time it was owned by Joshua Samuel Crompton T Extract from Kirby Wiske tithe map and apportionment, , showing the Sion Hill estate coloured green. The sale catalogue in the archive is missing its accompanying plan, but contains two photographs of the house and gardens see below.
