Eccentric, quirky and fascinating - Shandy Hall perfectly befits its most famous resident.

Sitting at the top of a hill, on the edge of the picturesque village of Coxwold, the historic timber-framed house is a confusion of styles, from medieval to Georgian.

Surrounded by beautiful gardens with far-reaching views, it was the home of local vicar and novelist Laurence Sterne who lived here from 1760 until his death in 1768.

It was here, within this higgledy-piggledy assortment of rooms of all shapes and sizes that the Irish-born writer, who earlier attended Hipperholme Grammar School, wrote the bulk of the comic masterpiece The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and later as he faced death, the influential novel A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.

The nine volume Tristram Shandy was in its day a novel like no other. Its appeal has endured and today it is among the most widely admired books in the world.

In his convoluted, humorous narrative, Tristram is telling his life story, but it is neither chronological nor structured - one of the central jokes is that he cannot explain anything simply.

Paying for the publication of the first two books himself, sales took off and success came, but there was also criticism, levelled at a man of the cloth for penning a work containing bawdy, sexual themes.

Sterne used the word Shandy - an old Yorkshire dialect word meaning ‘odd’ or ‘crack-brained’ - to describe his vicarage as well as the hero of the book. The vicar added a two-storey brick extension not more than two metres deep masking the medieval gables and creating the look, at one side, of a Georgian dwelling. Visitors admiring the house from the front will notice its most distinctive feature – its huge leaning chimney.

In the mid-1960s the house was rescued from a state of disrepair when it was bought by the newly-formed Laurence Sterne Trust, a charity which continues to preserve the house, promote Sterne’s work and raise much-needed funds.

The rooms - including Sterne’s office – are fascinating: a marble bust of the curate and Medieval wall paintings, discovered during the 1960’s renovations, being among the highlights.

During opening times, custodian Patrick Wildgust – who lives at the hall with his partner Chris Pearson - welcomes visitors and Sterne devotees, happy to impart his boundless knowledge and enthusiasm for the novelist.

The garden, lovingly tended by Chris and a number of volunteers, is a delight, with cottage garden borders alongside lawn, fruit trees and wild areas.

In a corner stands an ancient sweet chestnut tree that was struck by lightning in 1911. “It was probably here in Sterne’s day,” says Chris.

A disused stone quarry, consumed by nature, is accessed by paths mown through. There’s a moth hut - these gardens are playing a key role in USA-led research into the insects.

There’s a shop where 'Corporal Trim's Flourish' apple juice pressed from the garden's apple trees is sold. It is named after a character in the book, who makes a distinctive twisty movement with his walking stick. 

A converted granary houses a gallery where exhibitions are held.

A new exhibition, ‘Paint Her To Your Own Mind’, features 147 artists and writers responding to the blank page - number 147 - in the first edition of Tristram Shandy. Sterne wants to stimulate the creation of the most beautiful woman that ever existed and invites the reader

‘To conceive this right, - call for pen and ink - here’s paper ready to your hand, - Sit down, Sir, paint her to your own mind - as like your mistress as you can - as unlike your wife as your conscience will let you -‘tis all one to me - please but your own fancy in it.’

Artists and writers include Stephen Fry, Norman Ackroyd, Jonathan Meades, Lemony Snicket and Glen Baxter.

It will be in Shandy Hall gallery until 30 September.

Moved from London, Sterne’s body was reinterred in St Michael's Church, where his original headstone can be seen.

Factfile: laurencesternetrust.org.uk; Coxwold is 19 miles from York off the A19. Shandy Hall is open on Wednesday and Sunday until September 30. House tours are at 2.24pm and 3.45pm or by appointment. Gardens open May 1 to September 30, 11am to 4.30pm, every day except Saturday. House and garden admission £5, garden only £3.