Normanby Hall
Regency mansion in a country park near Scunthorpe, with period rooms, a servants’ gallery, a First World War hospital display and a rural life museum.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Sheffield family lived on this site from the 16th century, and John Sheffield became Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703. The present mansion was built between 1825 and 1830 to designs by Sir Robert Smirke for Sir Robert Sheffield, replacing an earlier house. Walter Brierley extended and altered it in 1906–1908. The Sheffield family left in 1963, and the hall and grounds are now looked after by North Lincolnshire Council.
The ground-floor rooms have been refurbished to show late Regency life, with touchscreens giving background on the objects. Upstairs, the gallery Life Below Stairs explores the work of the household staff in the first half of the 20th century, using objects, photographs and recorded memories of the servants’ wing that was pulled down in 1949. A second gallery, Normanby at War, tells how the family opened the hall as an auxiliary hospital for wounded soldiers from 1914 to early 1919 and also recalls secret tank trials on the River Trent in the Second World War.
The hall stands in a country park of several hundred acres that includes a restored Victorian walled garden, playgrounds, woodland trails and a rural life museum showing the working and domestic lives of North Lincolnshire’s countryside.
Highlights
- Regency mansion by Sir Robert Smirke with refurbished period rooms
- Life Below Stairs gallery on the household staff
- Normanby at War gallery with original hospital beds
- Rural Life Museum with a threshing machine and village shop displays
- Victorian walled garden and country park
Permanent exhibitions
- Regency rooms (ground floor) – Refurbished rooms that show the life of a late Regency household, with touchscreens explaining the objects.
- Life Below Stairs – A first-floor gallery on the household staff in the first half of the 20th century, using objects, photographs and audio accounts.
- Normanby at War – The hall’s time as an auxiliary hospital from 1914 to early 1919, with two original hospital beds and medical equipment.
- Operated by
- North Lincolnshire Council
Admission & discounts
| Adults | £12.50 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | £11.50Adult concession |
| Children & teens | £7free up to age 4 · Ages 5 to 16 (child concession £6). Children under 5 are free. |
| Child concession (ages 5 to 16) | £6 |
Summer day entry (2026 prices) covers the park grounds, the Hall and the Rural Life Museum. A car park charge of £5 applies from 2 November 2026 to 5 March 2027. Membership packages offer savings on repeat visits.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: no information
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Woodland paths are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies. Adapted bicycles, mobility scooters and wheelchairs can be hired (book on +44 1724 720588 or at the gift shop on the day; about 15 minutes of safety training for new users). A Changing Places facility is available. Large-print and other formats are available on request.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 4 |
|---|
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
- Hands-on stations
- Stroller-friendly
- Playground / play area
Two playgrounds (a larger one with a zip wire and a smaller one for younger children), a splash pad (daily 11:00 to 17:00, May to September, weather permitting), woodland sculptures and a storytelling area, a farmyard crazy golf course at weekends and in school holidays, a miniature railway on most summer Sundays and a land train in school holidays and on summer weekends. The Rural Life Museum has a mouse trail and activities for children under five.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Bus services run on Mondays to Fridays (check Traveline) and on Saturdays (check Hornsby Travel). No Sunday service is mentioned.
By car
Parking available
On-site car park; a £5 charge applies from 2 November 2026 to 5 March 2027.
Sat nav address: Normanby Hall Country Park, Normanby Road, Normanby, Scunthorpe DN15 9HU.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Museum shop
Stableyard Café (hot food must be ordered 30 minutes before closing) and a gift shop selling local crafts and produce. A golf clubhouse and, on busy summer days, a bar and tuck shop also serve visitors. Dogs on leads are welcome in the grounds and gift shop, and in a sheltered seating area in the stable yard; they may not stay inside the café.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| School programs | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Staff can show visitors around the exhibitions and talks can be arranged through North Lincolnshire Museums (museum@northlincs.gov.uk). A virtual tour and augmented reality content are available online. The museum learning service offers hands-on sessions for early years, primary and secondary pupils. |
