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Langford Villa, Filey

Langford Villa was constructed by the Sheriff of Nottingham, Thomas Dickinson Hall. Landed gentry, for whom Langford Villa was his summer retreat. Dickinson Hall set a high-bar which was rarely lowered over the following decades. Subsequent owners included the fabulously wealthy brewing family the Bentley’s, who also owned the now demolished Ravine Hall.

The sale of Langford Villa to the York solicitor William Thompson led to the villa becoming the summer residence of choice for Sir Joseph Terry, owner of Joseph Terry and Sons. Their most famous product is the Terry’s Chocolate Orange and every visitor to Langford Villa receives a complimentary Chocolate Orange as a nod to Sir Joseph’s summers at Filey.

Another notable resident was the classical scholar Evelyn Abbott. A fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, he taught private pupils Latin and Greek at Langford Villa. His three volume A History of Greece is still essential reading for classical scholars.

Undoubtedly, Filey has changed since 1900 when Queen Victoria’s granddaughter and her husband, Prince Louis of Battenberg, stayed on South Crescent with their children: Alice (mother of the Duke of Edinburgh), Louisa (Queen of Sweden), Louis (Earl Mountbatten).

However, Langford Villa continues to make history. It played a starring role on A House Through Time on BBC2 in 2019. Presenter David Olusoga was filmed in front of the villa, another addition to the cast of Langford Villa. Bricks and mortar proof that fact is often stranger than fiction.