Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull acquired the Thoresby lands in 1633, but was killed in the
Civil War in 1643. His son Henry Pierrepont,
the 2nd Earl, built the first grand house, attributed to the architect Talman, about 1670. In 1868, Sydney Pierrepont,
the 3rd Earl Manvers, commissioned the celebrated country house architect
Anthony Salvin to demolish the house after just a hundred years and replace it with the present house, erected to the north. Completed in 1871, it measures on its east and south fronts and on its west front. The impressive Great Hall, with minstrels' gallery at the west end, is long and high. The house descended to
Gervas Pierrepont, 6th Earl Manvers who died in 1955 without a male heir and the title thereby became extinct. The house remained with his wife, Countess Manvers, and their daughter Lady Rozelle Raynes. To minimise a perceived threat from coal mining
subsidence the buildings were sold to the
National Coal Board in 1979 and sold on the open market ten years later. In 2020 these fears came to light when abandoned mine workings subsided below the property, which required repairs from the
Coal Authority. The core of the Thoresby furniture collection was retained by the family who built a new house on the other side of the lake, while the remainder was sold at auction by
Sotheby's in 1989. After a number of owners it was acquired by
Warner Leisure Hotels. occupies part of the courtyard which is now open to the public as a retail space. ==Amenities==