Things to do
Farnborough Hall
A Palladian house north of Banbury, still lived in by the Holbech family and run with the National Trust, with a raised terrace walk to an obelisk. A few rooms and the grounds open from April to September. Closed until 7 April 2027.
Walker-friendly
A short, specific visit for people who like the eighteenth century: a few rooms in a home, then the terrace with its temples. Pair it with Upton House, 15 minutes away, on an open day. Bring cash. On its own it is not worth a long drive.
- Good: A Grade I landscape: the terrace, a temple, a pavilion and an obelisk of the mid eighteenth century
- Good: The Trust publishes a 5.5-mile parkland walk from here
- Worth knowing: Closed for the winter until 7 April 2027
- Worth knowing: Cash only on the door, says the Trust
- Worth knowing: A family home, so only a few rooms show
- Worth knowing: No safe coach access; groups come by car or minibus, by arrangement
About
Farnborough Hall is an ironstone house in the village of Farnborough, about 7 miles (11km) by road north of Banbury and 15 minutes from Upton House. The Holbech family bought the estate in the 1680s and still live here. The Treasury acquired the hall and 344 acres in 1960 and passed them to the National Trust, and the Trust opens it for part of the year.
The house and the terrace
The house is the lesser half of the visit, because only a few downstairs rooms show. Historic England lists it Grade I, and picks out an entrance hall of about 1750 made to hold William Holbech the younger's classical sculpture, one of the earliest schemes of its kind, and a Rococo dining room with plaster by William Perritt, designed around views of Rome and Venice by Canaletto and Panini. Holbech spent 1730 to 1745 in Italy and rebuilt the house when he came home.
The terrace is what to come for. It runs along the ridge from the house to an obelisk, past an Ionic Temple and an Oval Pavilion of about 1750, both Grade II*, with views over the parkland and the Hanwell valley. The Trust calls it a mile. The summary of the Register entry gives about 700m, so allow up to an hour there and back. The neighbour who advised on it was Sanderson Miller, of Radway Grange below Edgehill, and the Register grades the landscape Grade I.
Visiting
The Trust's own page says the hall is closed and reopens on 7 April 2027, and that it opens from April to September because the family still lives here. In 2026 tickets for the whole property cost £9.50 for an adult, £4.75 for a child and £23.75 for a family, and the venue takes cash only. Dogs on leads may use the grounds. The Trust's 2026 calendar showed the hall open from 2pm to 5.30pm on its open days (Saturday 11 April, for one) and closed on many others, so check the calendar or ring before you set out.
The Trust also publishes a 5.5-mile circular walk through the parkland, with stiles, narrow tracks and field crossings. It allows three to four hours, and its trail sheet says the route is not suitable for dogs. The Castle at Edgehill is the nearby lunch, above the Edgehill battlefield.
Opening hours and season
Closed; reopens 7 April 2027, says the Trust. In season it opens on set days, 2pm to 5.30pm on the 2026 open days we saw. Many days stay closed, so check the calendar or ring first.
Facilities
- Free car parkA short walk from the house, open every day; nearer parking and mobility parking on open days
- Dogs on leadsGrounds only; assistance dogs everywhere
The details
- Time to allow
- About two hours: the rooms, then the terrace and back
- Features
- Garden or terrace · Parking · Views
- History
- Late seventeenth century; remodelled about 1745 to 1750
- Parking
- Free. A car park a short walk from the house opens every day and serves the wider estate; parking nearer the house, with mobility bays, opens on open days only. Satnav OX17 1DU.
Photos
The south front of Farnborough Hall Photo: Nicholas Jackson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The obelisk at the end of the terrace walk, Farnborough Photo: Stephen McKay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The Ionic Temple on the terrace walk, Farnborough Photo: Nicholas Jackson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
Wisteria in the rose garden, Farnborough Hall Photo: Nicholas Jackson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Accessibility
- Assistance dogs welcome
The Trust lists two steps at the entrance, with the ground floor accessible, wheelchairs available, an accessible toilet and designated mobility parking about 9m from the house entrance. The grounds are partly accessible, on grass paths with some slopes. The parkland walk has stiles and is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
Places to stay nearby
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The Brasenose Arms, Cropredy
Pubs · Cropredy
A 17th-century inn on Station Road in Cropredy, with four refurbished bed and breakfast rooms, a bar and garden, and its own music fringe alongside Fairport's Cropredy Convention each August. The pub says it is the only one in the country with the name.
Verified Nov 2026
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The Castle at Edgehill
Pubs · Edgehill and Radway
A pub and restaurant in the castellated 18th-century tower on top of Edgehill, above the 1642 battlefield, with Hook Norton ales, large gardens, five en-suite rooms and a gin school in the tower.
Family-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
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The Wroxton Hotel
Hotel · Wroxton
A 32-room hotel made from three adjoining stone cottages, partly dating from 1649, on the edge of thatched Wroxton, a few minutes' drive from junction 11 of the M40, with free parking and its own tea room.
Dog-friendly · Wedding venues
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The National Herb Centre, Warmington 2.8 km away
- Burton Dassett Hills Country Park 4.3 km away
- The Brasenose Arms, Cropredy 4.6 km away
- The Lost Pug, Northend 5.0 km away
Sights nearby
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Cropredy Bridge
Sight · Bridge · Cropredy
The bridge over the River Cherwell at Cropredy, north of Banbury, where a royalist army beat Sir William Waller on 29 June 1644. This is a 1937 rebuild faced in old Hornton stone, with an inscription on its south side. Free to see at any time.