From as early as the mid-13th century, the owners of Denton have wanted to shape and use the dramatic natural landscape stretching from the river Wharfe to the high moorland nearly 200m above it. The Fairfax family acquired the estate by marriage in the early 16th century. By 1596, they had created extensive parkland covering about 700 acres, over half of which had been put in by Sir Thomas Fairfax not long before the survey was taken. His son (later 1st Lord Fairfax) though had grander ambitions and built a large new house on or near the site of the present hall in the 1620s.
After the upheavals of the Civil War, Denton became a secondary property for the Fairfax family but in 1688, Thomas (5th Lord Fairfax) returned to live there. He made improvements to the hall and possibly the grounds but incurred debts that meant the estate had to be sold after his death in 1710. It was acquired by James Ibbetson in 1716 and thus began a period of 200 years during which the Ibbetson family developed the designed landscape that we see today. The Jacobean hall had suffered two fires by 1743 and on inheriting the estate in 1768, Sir James Ibbetson decided to build a brand new house to a design by John Carr. He spent over £10,000 on this, however there is no archival evidence indicating any changes made to the grounds at this time.
Sir James Carr Ibbetson took over the estate from his father in 1798 and it may be during his tenure that the extant lake, remodelled parkland and walled kitchen garden, noted in c.1810, were put in place. He also probably added the new lodges to provide an entrance from the east by 1817. His brother, Sir Charles, continued to add to the designed landscape from 1825 with significant tree planting and improvements to the glasshouses. On Sir Charles’ death in 1839, Denton was let to tenants until 1861 when his daughter, Laura, and husband, Marmaduke Wyvill, took up residence. They made a few changes including extending the pleasure grounds to Scales Gill. They also owned the Constable Burton estate and gradually this became their main focus, so Denton was rented out and eventually sold in 1920. Subsequent owners have made few changes and the landscape remains as it was designed by the early 19th century.