About us: a fascinating history

Spital Farm is a newly-converted farm building which looks out onto the beautiful Vale of Pickering. Our modern facilities and shops are built on an area of fascinating history which dates back to Anglo-Saxon times.

The Spital Farm site first came about when an ancient monastery was demolished during the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII (between 1536 and 1541, when Henry VIII disbanded monastic communities in England, Wales and Ireland).

Our Grade II listed, sixteenth-century farmhouse, visible as you approach the site, was the original ‘spital’ (from the Hospital of St Mary, Staxton, which belonged to the priory of Bridlington), and the visitor centre is built on what remains of this old monastery.

So while celebrating Victorian traditions at our modern centre, you will also be experiencing a site rich in history and stories to tell about England’s past.

Latest news
Spital Farm Craft Centre featured in Scarborough Evening News...