In North Yorkshire, Kiplin Hall is a charming red-brick Jacobean pavilion, built at the very end of our period by a man whose name resounds across the Atlantic: George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, founder of the American colony of Maryland.
A singular Jacobean pavilion
Kiplin Hall was built from 1622 to 1625 as a hunting lodge by George Calvert, then Secretary of State to King James I. Its silhouette is immediately recognisable: red brick with diamond patterns, a near-rectangular plan, and above all four towers topped with ogee domes placed not at the corners (as was usual), but in the middle of each face — a rare, almost unique Jacobean architectural signature. This originality makes Kiplin a precious landmark of early-seventeenth-century domestic architecture, at the hinge of our window.
The father of Maryland
George Calvert has remained famous for a major colonial adventure. A statesman of James I, a convinced Catholic, he dreamed of founding in America a refuge for persecuted English Catholics. His project resulted (after his death) in the creation of the colony of Maryland — named in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. Maryland would become one of the few places in the Anglo-Saxon world to practise, from its beginnings, a form of religious tolerance. Thus, this modest Yorkshire hunting lodge is linked to the birth of an American state and to one of the first attempts at liberty of conscience in the New World. To see: the four central towers with ogee domes, the exhibition on the founding of Maryland, the Jacobean-style library, the park, lake and gardens.
Did you know?
The name of the American state of Maryland refers directly to Kiplin through its founder: George Calvert, who had this pavilion built in the last years of James I, obtained the colony's charter shortly before his death, and his son Cecil realised it. Named in honour of Queen Henrietta Maria ('Mary-land'), the colony was conceived as a refuge for Catholics — making this quiet corner of Yorkshire one of the improbable cradles of America.
Notes
Kiplin Hall lies near Scorton, North Yorkshire; house and gardens open to the public seasonally. Hours to check.
Quiz
- Who built Kiplin Hall (1622-1625)?
- George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
- Henry VIII
- Robert Smythson
- Which American colony did Calvert found?
- Maryland
- Virginia
- Massachusetts
- What is original about the towers of Kiplin?
- They are in the middle of each face (not at the corners)
- They are of glass
- They are underground