Shandy Hall is an Accredited Museum and is owned by the Laurence Sterne Trust. It contains a collection of books, paintings, manuscripts, prints and ephemera relating to the eighteenth-century writer Laurence Sterne. This collection of editions of Sterne's works (largely collected by Kenneth Monkman the founder of the Trust) is internationally recognised. The Laurence Sterne Trust was established in 1967 in order to promote the writings of Laurence Sterne, the novelist and vicar of Coxwold. Shandy Hall is where he lived and wrote 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' and 'A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'. The Trust promotes Sterne's work and international reputation through exhibitions, events and public access to the property and its collection.