The plaque on the north face of the Hall (see below) indicates that the original building dates back to about 1530 but since then there have been two notable reconstructions.

Several prominent people have been residents of the house the most notable being Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a short time.

In the Second World War, the British Army used the house after which it was taken over by the RAF and an extensive hospital developed in the grounds.

[1] The house was called Nocton Manor and was the property of Thomas Wimbishe and subsequently the Towneley family.

In 1996 before the recent fire, an examination of the house was made and some evidence was found that the 1841 building contained some parts of Nocton Old Hall.

Fire destroyed the house in about 1830 and another was built in the same place in 1841.Nocton Hall, then the property of Thomas Wimbishe, was visited by Henry VIII and Catherine Howard in 1541 during the King's northern progress.

Henry's fifth wife, Catherine, reputedly planted the great chestnut tree in the grounds at Nocton on 13 October 1541.

His wife Sarah had proved to be an unsuitable partner for a high-ranking politician as she was prone to outburst of hysteria and hypochondria.

There exist letters written by Sarah's step aunt Emily Eden which frequently describes her niece's strange behaviour.

[8]The aunt also felt that Frederick had a nervous disposition and was completely dominated by the hysterical behaviour of his wife.

After he resigned as Prime Minister, one of his colleagues remarked that he was "quite another man who sleeps at nights now, and laughs and talks as usual".

[10] After he returned from India he spent more of his time at his other home Studley Royal and he decided to sell Nocton Hall in 1889.

Nocton Hall Residential home ran a summer fête for the village on their lawn and employed many local people.

The home ran into difficulty and closed in the mid-1990s, and was sold by the receivers to new owners, Leda Properties of Oxford.

An adjacent geriatric nursing care two-storey building has also been severely damaged by vandals since it was left vacant.

In October 2009 Nocton Hall was included in the Victorian Society's list of the top ten endangered buildings in England and Wales.

An investigation for BBC Look North established that Leda Properties intended to put forward new development plans in "the near future" for both the Hall and its associated gardens.

As the Hall is Grade II listed and retains its major structural integrity the Society argued there was still a viable future for the building.