Brodsworth Hall and Gardens — Attraction in Doncaster

Brodsworth Hall and Gardens is a real mixed bag. On one hand the house itself is fascinating. Way bigger than it initially appears on the outside, you'll experience a maze-like journey through what is one of the most impressive displays of history I've ever seen. There are handy guides in most rooms to ask questions, and I did this frequently, before realizing that these lovely volunteers were for the most part just a talking version of the guide folders that were sitting in most rooms. But it genuinely was a magical experience.

Less magical, the cafe was kind of bizarre. The lady at the till took my order and immediately disappeared, then was irritated that my partner wanted to order, rushed back to the kitchen to retrieve the first order, and add on my partners before disappearing again. I tried to call her back because our two friends standing right next to me also wanted to order. She returned even more flustered and made the same mistake after one of my friends ordered. How does a person make the same mistake 3 times with 4 people? It was chaotic and when she rang up the bill, she had forgotten one of the wedge portions. The menu was pretty awful and the food itself was super disappointing, as were the prices. For 4 Toasties, 2 portions of wedges, 1 cake and 4 soft drinks it amounted to just shy of £60. The wedges were cold and undercooked, the Toasties were the absolute cheapest ingredients and it was all really poor. I'd never eat there again.

The price to get in was also quite pricey at £18 each. So in total the four of us spent £130 on some really poor food, 2 hours walking around a rather small but pretty gardens (we saw and walked the whole garden in 15 minutes, at a crawling pace with a pram), and an old house.

If you've got an English Heritage membership you'll get in for 'free'. It's worth the visit in that scenario but don't buy anything, take your own drinks and eat at a nearby town or village. It's a real shame that the place isn't being run any better. If you're super into your history, then £18 isn't too bad for what you'll get...

We visited today for the first time, this place is only 15 minutes from us and we've been meaning to go for so long. I'm glad we finally did!

We arrived at lunchtime and the car park was full, which put me off as I'm not a fan of crowded spaces. But - the grounds are so big that it didn't feel crowded at all. The hall is wonderful, so many rooms and things to look at. They've done a fantastic job of preserving it. There was lots of information in every room, so you can read all about the hall's history as you go along. All of the rooms are clearly signposted and packed with things - a mixture of furniture and exhibits from the hall's early days, alongside things from its final few years as a residence in the late 80's. This really impressed me. I recognised a fair few things that I'd seen in my own grandparents' house as a child - they made me feel quite emotional. My favourite rooms were the kitchen's and the pantry - special mention to the full jar of homemade marmalade dated 1988, still in tact, although a little off colour now!

The vast gardens are beautiful, panoramic, and peaceful - full of ornaments, flowers, and wildlife. We spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds after we had finished the house tour. My children loved the play park especially and didn't want to leave. We didn't go into the tea rooms as it looked busy, but we did get ice creams from the van outside, which also stocked various refreshments if you don't fancy the long queue to the tea rooms.

From reading other people's reviews and seeing their pictures, I can see there were a few rooms we must have missed downstairs, so we will definitely be visiting again soon....

We came to visit this place today (2hrs drive one way) because of them taking part in National Lottery Open Week 2025 (free entry). It was a nightmare! We arrived 2:30 and soon learned that we can't see the house because it is closed for the winter! On National Lottery website it is written that one can visit both the house and the gardens. That's why we came. We wouldn't come otherwise. Soon after we arrived it started to rain heavily. So we run to the house, where the doors were open. It turned out to be a cafe (tured out to be the only place open). We asked a girl working in the cafe where is the entrance to the house, and she told us we need to go around. We circled the building (in heavy rain!) and returned soaking wet to the cafe, to hear from the same girl (when asked) that the house must have closed 3pm. Then I spoke with someone else from the crew and they told me that only 1 wing of the house was open today, and it closed at 2pm! (Normally house is supposed to be open until 4pm). Why? Why they took part at all then in "Open Week"? And why such misleading informaton? Why the girl from the cafe didn't know if the house is open or not? Do they communicate there at all with each other? House closed but cafe opened. We didnt arrive to sightsee a cafe. As a result we were sitting in their cafe in wet clothes for an hourwaiting for it to stop raining (hence I had spare time to write this review). Great fun... PS: I would give a second star for the gardens because they looked nice from the distance; but we couldn't see them either due to...