How Hill
How Hill was acquired by the National Trust in the 1990s almost 10 years after the rest of the estate. Located in the rural landscape adjacent to an area of outstanding natural beauty, How Hill overlooks the outstanding vista of the Skell valley and boasts wonderful 360° views of the countryside. If you are driving to the estate from Harrogate then you can clearly see the hill, and the tower on top, presiding over the surrounding countryside.
How Hill was acquired by the Trust due to the historical importance of the site. Monastic remains have been found on the hill and the eighteenth century tower sitting on top was John Aislabie’s first addition to the landscape. In eighteenth century paintings of the estate, the tower is shown to be an integral aspect and an important termination point for many of the significant vistas which Aislabie so cleverly contrived.
The farm buildings which the Trust has converted are situated in a traditional courtyard shape set in approximately 25 acres of pastureland. The exact date of the farmyard buildings is unclear, some argue for an early nineteenth century date whereas others place the buildings in the eighteenth century. What we can be sure of is that there was a farmhouse for the tenant recorded there on the 1810 survey and that the use of the site had changed from being a garden feature to a domestic farming establishment, which it was to remain until abandonment at the outbreak of the Second World War.
The How Hill project has seen the conversion of the original buildings from farm use to holiday cottages, providing 5 holiday cottage lets with a total of 23 bed spaces. The holiday cottages will provide a sustainable income which will support the Trust’s conservation work at Fountains Abbey. With more people expected to be holidaying in the UK, we hope that the How Hill holiday cottages will prove as popular as the other holiday accommodation we have on the estate.
The National Trust’s environmental and sustainability principles are at the very core of this project and have been incorporated into the planning process from the outset. Local natural materials are being used wherever possible, the use of renewable resources and recyclable materials is being optimised and energy and water consumption in the construction and use of the site will be minimised. Heating for the cottages is being provided by a ground source heat pump which will help to reduce CO2 emissions.
