page_title: Grantley Hall
section_title: The Furness family
hierarchical_section_title: Grantley Hall / The Furness family
caption_attribution_description: English: Sir Christopher Furness of Grantley Hall circa 1900
context_page_description: Grantley Hall is a Country house located in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Grantley, about 5 miles to the west of Ripon, on the banks of the River Skell. It is listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England, and the Japanese garden at the hall is listed Grade II on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
  The house was built by Thomas Norton and his son Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley in the mid 18th century, apparently based on a Palladian design by Isaac Ware. Additions in the 1760s have been attributed to John Carr, who knew Fletcher Norton. The house was extended during the 19th and early 20th centuries to form the house as it stands today.
  More recently the building was used as a convalescent home during World War II. Between 1947 and 1974, the house was under the ownership of West Riding County Council, who purchased the property to use as an adult education residential college before it passed to North Yorkshire County Council in 1974, to become a training and conference centre. In 2006 the property was sold to a private purchaser for residential use.
context_section_description: Sir Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness (1852–1912) who bought Grantley Hall in 1900 was the owner of the shipping company called the Furness Line. He came from humble beginnings his father at one time being a coal miner. However he later founded a large grocery business in Hartlepool. Christopher went into the family business but later began to buy boats and started his own shipping line which was extremely successful. He became a multimillionaire and bought numerous properties. He was also a Member of Parliament representing Hartlepool. In 1876 he married Jane Annette Suggitt (1855–1930) and the couple had one son. 
  In 1905 a reporter from the magazine “The Car Illustrated” visited the house and described the estate in detail in a feature article. They said.
  "The mansion is stone built, and charmingly situate on the River Skell, which is widened into a series of lakes skirting the drive through the park, which with its pleasure grounds covers about forty seven acres. The entrance hall on the east front of the mansion opens to a corridor forming a picture gallery, through which a passage issues north and south, giving access to the principal reception rooms. The southern end of the mansion contains a spacious hall, with fireplace, smoking-room, study."
  Lady Jane Furness was a keen gardener and created one of the earliest Japanese gardens in the country in about 1910. It is listed on the English Heritage Register The garden features two ponds linked by a stream with large, irregular stepping stones as well as a diverse variety of trees, mosses, ferns and bamboo. When Christopher died in 1912 his son Marmaduke inherited the house but Lady Jane retained a life interest in the property.
  Sir Marmaduke Furness (1883–1940) continued in the family business and succeeded in expanding it. He was married three times. His first wife was Ada Daisy Hogg (1880–1921) who was the daughter of George Hogg of “The Gables” Seaton Carew. Their marriage in 1904 was widely reported in the newspapers. The Couple had a son and a daughter. Unfortunately Daisy died in 1921 at the age of 41 on board their boat shortly after she had an operation. In 1926 Marmaduke married Thelma Morgan, the famous woman who was reputed to be the mistress of Prince Edward. They were divorced in 1933 and soon after he married Enid Maud Lindeman. 
  In 1925 Marmaduke sold Grantley Hall to Sir William Henry Aykroyd.
caption: Sir Christopher Furness
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