Shandy Hall

About the museum

Shandy Hall was built around 1430 as a timber-framed long hall for the local priest, at about the same time as St Michael's Church in Coxwold. It was then known as High Hall. Rare wall paintings survive in the ground-floor parlour and the solar, and the Grade I listed building was extended in the seventeenth century.

In 1760 the writer Laurence Sterne came to Coxwold as perpetual curate and lived in the house, then the parsonage, until his death in 1768. He added a coach house, a cellar and a two-storey brick extension. Friends renamed the house after his novel, using "shandy", a dialect word for wild or odd. Sterne wrote the later volumes of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey in the study, which today holds the core of the museum's collection.

The Laurence Sterne Trust was formed in 1964 and bought the hall, and ownership was transferred in 1968. The house opened to the public in 1973. The collection includes what is described as the world's largest assembly of editions of Sterne's works, together with paintings, prints and furniture linked to him or his time. The Trust also shows contemporary art in the house and the gardens, and runs a residency and events programme.

Highlights

• The study where Sterne wrote Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey
• Largest collection of editions of Sterne's works
• Bust of Sterne by Joseph Nollekens, made from life in 1777
• Medieval wall paintings in the parlour and solar
• Gardens with contemporary art and a wild garden

Permanent exhibition

• The Study and the Sterne collection – Sterne's writing room with the world's largest collection of editions of his works, plus paintings, prints and furniture linked to him.

Founded

1968

Operated by

Laurence Sterne Trust

Director

Patrick Wildgust (curator)

Admission & discounts

2026 prices: gardens £5; house and gardens £10. Card payments are accepted in the shop.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The tour rooms are on the ground floor, but there are steps into some of them and turning space is limited; wheelchairs can be positioned at the doors to see into the rooms. There is a small step up into the shop, a flight of steps to the gallery, steps down to the wild garden and uneven paths in the grounds. The toilet near the house can be reached without steps from the car park, but it is not an accessible toilet; the nearest accessible toilet is in the village hall, about half a mile away. Assistance dogs are welcome in the house; well-behaved dogs on a short lead are welcome in the garden. Visitors with disabilities are asked to contact the Trust in advance.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Coxwold is about 19 miles north of York, between Thirsk, Easingwold and Helmsley, in the North York Moors National Park. From the A19, turn east towards Coxwold; Shandy Hall is the first house on the left in the village when approaching from the west.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Museum shop

There is no cafe on site. Refreshments are available in Coxwold village, at the Fauconberg pub and the Coxwold tearoom. A WC and wash basin are near the house.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit