Sarah Beeny & Graham Swift, Rise Hall

TV Property Guru Sarah Beeny calls in Ventrolla to her Grade II listed Rise Hall

Key features: Commercial, Domestic, Grade II* Listed, Sash Windows, Hotel, Renovation, Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS), Georgian.

Rise Hall

The village of Rise is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is 15 minutes from Beverley, 12 minutes from Hornsea, and 20 minutes from central Hull. Rise Hall is Yorkshire’s largest privately owned Grade II stately country house venue offering exclusivity in the East Riding of Yorkshire, a short distance from Beverley. Rise Hall has 31 bedrooms, including a luxurious bridal suite. All rooms can sleep two guests and can also have additional beds added for children.

Rise finds its mention in the Domesday Book of 1086, noting its ownership by Cnut, the son of Karli, in 1066. At that time, the estate encompassed 6 carucates of ploughed fields, equivalent to about 720 acres (2.9 km2; 1.13 sq mi), along with 30 acres (0.12 km2; 0.047 sq mi) of meadow and 40 acres (0.16 km2; 0.063 sq mi) of woodland.

Between 1066 and 1071, William Malet briefly owned the estate before it passed to Drew de Bevrère (also known as Drogo of la Beuvriëre). Rise Manor was later tenanted by Franco de Fauconberg, and ownership continued in the Fauconberg family until 1372 when it was sold to Sir John Neville by Sir Thomas Fauconberg. The Neville family retained it until the crown seized the lands, including Rise, after the death of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, in 1471.

The estate then came into the possession of Richard Neville’s son-in-law, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester, who later became Richard III of England. It remained a crown estate until 1628 when the house and 120 acres (0.49 km2; 0.19 sq mi) of woodland were used as security for a loan from the city of London to the crown. In 1639, the estate was sold to William Raven and Michael Evans, who, in 1646, sold it to Thomas Bacon and Christopher Beckwith on behalf of Hugh Bethell. Evidence of this period was discovered during the 2011 restoration, revealing Jacobean wood panels in what was once the estate office.

In the 19th century, Rise Hall underwent significant changes. Between 1815 and 1820, Richard Bethell rebuilt the hall, potentially with the assistance of architect Robert Abraham or Watson & Pritchett of York. The house featured a Grecian-style portico, wings, and a central pediment. By 1856, the estate included extensive land, woodlands, and fish ponds, all part of the Bethell family holdings. The village of Rise, in 1995, remained predominantly owned by the Bethell family.

During the 20th century, the manor served various purposes, including as headquarters for searchlight batteries during World War II and later as a convent school dedicated to St. Philomena from 1946 to 1989. In 2001, TV host and property expert Sarah Beeny, along with her husband Graham Swift, purchased the deteriorating Rise Hall for £435,000. Their restoration efforts, documented in Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare, faced challenges with planning regulations and required substantial work to make the property habitable. The couple aimed to preserve the historical significance of the hall and contribute to its protection as part of British heritage. The restoration project involved collaborations with local students and contractors to ensure its revival and growth.

Sarah Beeny, Rise Hall and Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare

Sarah Beeny

Sarah Beeny is a prominent English broadcaster and entrepreneur, renowned for her roles in presenting various television shows such as “Property Ladder” (2001–2009), “Britain’s Best Home” (2003), “Streets Ahead” (2005–2006), “Property Snakes and Ladders” (2009), “How to Live Mortgage Free with Sarah Beeny” (2017), “Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country” (2020–present), and “Sarah Beeny’s New Country Lives” (2023) [4].

Beyond her television career, Beeny is a notable advocate for the preservation of buildings at risk. She personally undertook the restoration of Rise Hall, a Grade II* listed hall boasting 32 bedrooms located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Beeny is also an accomplished writer, contributing regular columns to national newspapers and magazines, and authoring numerous books.

Rise Hall

Sarah Beeny and Graham Swift are confronted with the monumental challenge of preserving Rise Hall, a significant exemplar of architectural heritage. This second series chronicles the couple’s ongoing efforts to revitalise every nook and cranny of their 97-room listed mansion in Yorkshire.

Sarah is resolute in her quest to find a purpose for the hall and transform it into a family home. However, with only a portion of the house restored and much still requiring urgent attention, they must elevate their efforts to reverse the fortunes of this historical building.

The focus of this second series revolves around the couple’s daily struggle to restore the staterooms and additional bedrooms of their Georgian house, all within an increasingly constrained budget. It will delve into the captivating social and architectural history of Rise Hall, showcasing the intricacies of restoration and decoration on both a grand scale and a tight budget.

“Beeny’s Restoration Nightmare” offers a rare glimpse into how the property guru juggles work, life, family, and an ambitious renovation project. Filled with setbacks and tribulations akin to those experienced by Sarah in her observations of other property developers over the years, the series poses the question: how will she navigate the myriad of challenges now that she’s at the helm? Has she taken on more than she can handle?

Ventrolla Impresses on Property Ladder

Sarah was previously impressed by Ventrolla and the service they offer, having worked with them on the TV show Property Ladder, and so she wasted no time enlisting their help to restore her own sash windows this time around.

Sarah Beeny said:

“Ventrolla were the first port of call when I needed to complete the huge task of restoring all the windows at Rise Hall. Having worked with them previously I knew they would work wonders on improving both the look and energy efficiency of the windows.”

“This project has been a mammoth task. The huge mansion had an acre of leaking roof, a third of a mile of corridors, 11 main reception rooms, 32 bedrooms and countless bathrooms, as well as a moss-filled former gymnasium and a grade II listed stable block and numerous out buildings.”

“Many people would have decided the cost and effort was not worth it but we are delighted to rescue this beautiful building for the enjoyment of generations to come.”

“We are delighted with the work done by Ventrolla. The windows are an important feature of the building and it is fantastic to have them all in complete working order. I’ll definitely be recommending them to the people I work with in the future.”

Ventrolla started work on the restoration in January 2010 and completed the vast project in four phases, adhering to strict deadlines as the first wedding was booked for June.

The work involved the renovation of 147 sash windows, including 23 new sashes being made to install into existing window boxes.

Alan Bell, Ventrolla’s Sales and Marketing Director, said:

“It was great working with Sarah again and this was such a rewarding renovation to be a part of, but we were faced with some challenges as the house has some unique windows. One large window spanning two floors across a staircase required a tower to be erected in order to renovate it. In addition, some of the sashes were originally made to only open half way and so had half height pulleys and some of the windows were on hoppers – timber brackets that the window rests on when tilted open, with no sash weight mechanism. The building now looks fantastic and we were glad to hear the first wedding was a success!”

The unique Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System was applied to the gaps in all the sash windows which allows for smoother movement, eradicates draughts, reduces rattles, and can help reduce noise.

With over 40 years of experience, Ventrolla offers a tailored range of period window solutions.  Their unique service includes draught-proofing with the Ventrolla Perimeter Sealing System (VPSS) and fitting replacement double-glazed sashes that incorporate the patented Sash Removal System (SRS) for easy painting and future maintenance.

They offer complete new timber windows, secondary glazing solutions and a wide range of window hardware. The company has its head office in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and regional offices located throughout the UK.