Memorial Of The Nidd Ferry Disater In Grounds To South Of Newby Hall

Memorial, dating approximately to 1869, possibly incorporating earlier architectural elements. Constructed of ashlar and gritstone, it stands approximately 3 metres high. The memorial has a square base with a round-arched recess on each side. Above the base are clustered Corinthian columns, featuring unusual grape decoration on the inner columns. The top is finished with ball and cushion finials, and four mushroom-shaped finials flank the columns. The memorial does not appear to have any obvious depiction of the incident it commemorates.

In February 1869, the York and Ainsty Hunt reached the banks of the River Ure, which was swollen due to heavy rain. Several members boarded a ferry located to the east of the kitchen gardens. One of the horses became tangled in the chains on the side of the ferry, panicked, and tipped the boat over. Six men were drowned, including Sir Charles Slingsby, heir to the estates in Knaresborough and Scriven, Captain Henry Vyner, and Edmund Robinson, all members of the Newby Hall family. Clare and Robert Vyner were saved. This was a dramatic event that had a considerable impact on the history of estates in the area. The memorial originally stood within woodland to the east of the kitchen gardens.