Castle hotel
Sneaton Castle
Whitby, North Yorkshire
Level 4 Castle-Style MansionLevel 4: a castellated house built around 1830 for James Wilson, with no earlier defensive history. Some rooms sit in the original house, others in a 1914 priory extension.
Some rooms inside the walls
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Sneaton Castle is a castle hotel above Whitby, North Yorkshire, built as a castellated house around 1830 and later the headquarters of a religious order. It is a Level 4 castle-style building rather than a true fortress: some bedrooms are in the original house, others in a later priory wing. It suits guests who want Esk Valley views and a bit of Whitby history rather than a genuine medieval castle.
Quick facts
- Castle Authenticity Scale
- Level 4: Castle-Style Mansion
- Where you sleep
- Some rooms inside the walls
- Built
- Circa 1830, with a 1914 extension
- Architecture
- Castellated house with crenellated towers, Gothic Revival
- Heritage status
- Grade II listed
- Rooms
- 17
- Star rating
- Four-star (Booking.com)
- Guest rating
- 9.3 out of 10 on Booking.com (September 2026)
- Restaurant
- Yes (hotel website)
- Listed on Booking.com
- Restaurant, Parking, Free wifi
- Last checked
- September 2026
The story
The story of Sneaton Castle
Sneaton Castle stands above the Esk Valley on Castle Road, on the edge of Whitby in North Yorkshire. James Wilson bought Sneaton Manor in 1820 and rebuilt it as a castellated house, probably completed around 1830, according to its Grade II listing entry.
The listed building is two storeys over a basement, built in ashlar stone, with a crenellated centre section, five sash windows and taller crenellated towers at each end of the front, each with machicolated battlements.
In 1914 the building became the headquarters of the newly founded Order of the Holy Paraclete and a girls' boarding school, with the community's mother house established the following year at what became known as St Hilda's Priory. The sisters later moved to a purpose-built convent nearby, and the castle and priory buildings became a hotel.
The sleep
Rooms at Sneaton Castle
The hotel's own website describes bedrooms across both the original castle house and the priory building added for the Order of the Holy Paraclete in 1914. One suite is described as having its own turret with a four-poster bed, suggesting it sits in one of the original towers.
Other rooms are in what the hotel calls the sister's priory, a wing renovated to create en-suite rooms while keeping some original features, including a former prayer room arch with visible period paintings. Several rooms overlook the castle estate or the Esk Valley.
Guests who want a room specifically inside the older castellated house, rather than the priory wing, should check with the hotel directly when booking.
The table
Eating at Sneaton Castle
The Garden Room is the hotel's on-site restaurant and bar, according to the hotel's own website, serving a bistro-style menu that changes with the seasons and includes beef from the estate's own herd.
The grounds
Around Sneaton Castle
The hotel sits on an estate above the Esk Valley on the edge of Whitby. Several of the bedrooms look out over the castle grounds or the valley, according to the hotel's own website.
Sneaton Castle is close to Whitby town centre and Whitby Abbey, though the exact distance has not been confirmed against a routeplanner for this entry.
What we'd flag
What we'd flag
- Not every room is inside the original 1830s castle house. Several are in the later priory wing added in 1914, so ask which building a room is in if that matters to you.
Who it's for
Who Sneaton Castle suits
Sneaton Castle suits visitors to Whitby who want a historic base with valley views close to the town, and guests interested in the site's history as a convent and school. It is less suited to anyone specifically wanting to sleep inside a medieval castle, since the building is a 19th-century castellated house rather than a true fortress.
Where Sneaton Castle is.
Map tiles from OpenStreetMap.
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Sneaton Castle: questions
Is Sneaton Castle a real castle?
It is a real castellated house rather than a medieval fortress. It was built around 1830 for James Wilson in castle style, with towers and battlements, but it never had a genuine defensive role.
Who built Sneaton Castle?
James Wilson bought Sneaton Manor in 1820 and rebuilt it as the castellated house now known as Sneaton Castle, with the work probably finished around 1830, according to its Grade II listing entry.
What was Sneaton Castle used for before it was a hotel?
From 1914 it was the headquarters of the newly founded Order of the Holy Paraclete and a girls' boarding school, with the order's mother house, St Hilda's Priory, established there the following year.
Are the bedrooms inside the original castle building?
Some are. The hotel describes at least one suite with its own turret in the original house, while other rooms are in the later priory wing added in 1914, so the exact split between the two buildings is not fully confirmed.
Sources and checks
Last checked: September 2026. We checked these sources for this page. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- historicengland.org.uk: build date, architectural description, listing grade, 1914 order history
- sneatoncastle.co.uk: priory wing accommodation
- sneatoncastle.co.uk: room descriptions, turret suite, room count