Ormesby Hall

September 19, 2026

Attraction Details

Cost £7
Child £3.50
Free with National Trust membership
Parking Free
Website 🔗 Link

As part of Heritage Open Days,

we decided to defect from our usual English Heritage exclusivity and head just down the road to Ormesby Hall – which was free entry on the weekend of September 19th.

As this was a spontaneous family visit, we weren’t really equipped for a full investigation, but we did a whistle-stop tour of everything apart from the church, which we couldn’t work out how to access.

Denied by Glastonbury House

Ormesby Hall, constructed in the 18th century,

is a Georgian mansion sitting in a surprisingly green pocket of South East Middlesbrough.

One minute you’re driving through the usual suburban sprawl, and the next you’ve disappeared behind a few trees and suddenly, there’s a country house, lawns, and enough greenery to make you question whether you’ve teleported.

Save for Glastonbury House looming in the distance, you’d have no idea that you’re actually on the edge of Middlesbrough rather than somewhere in the middle of the countryside.

True to form, Rachael the history enthusiast shared that the Pennyman family had owned the estate for hundreds of years and extensively extended and altered the hall before it was donated to the National trust in 1961.

Heading inside, we found the model railway installations, featuring the impressive Corfe Castle alongside a separate four circuit layout with buttons for guests to press and make the trains move!

After some thorough button pressing, we headed down, into the courtyard and into the small second-hand bookshop which also has a children’s section off to the side. Isaac and I found a book and sat down on the sofa for a little while to read a story.

Not too shabby for a 250+ year old

Before heading out towards the orchard and stables, we had a spot of lunch at the Café which is tucked away in the old servants’ wing. It’s a great place to stop during a visit with the option to also sit eat outside overlooking the gardens.

Racing into nature

Ride like the wind, Bullseye

The grand stables (with hidden Ice Cream)

After a full sprint to get to the giant metal horse for a photo opportunity, we realised the orchards weren’t huge and headed back towards the stables. The stables were originally built for the 6th Baronet’s horses and more recently were used to house Cleveland Police’s mounted section until the unit was disbanded in December 2013.

Inside the central courtyard of the stables is where you will find the most important thing – the ice cream shop. A little pricey, but very nice nonetheless.

There’s clearly a lot more to Ormesby Hall than we had time to take in on this visit, particularly inside the house, church and across the wider estate. We’ll definitely head back in the future for a proper visit and hopefully work out how to access the church.