Crook Hall is a Grade I listed house built in the 13th or 14th to 18th centuries, located in the

Framwelgate Framwelgate (or Framwellgate) is an area of Durham, County Durham, England. It is adjoined by Crossgate, North End, Framwellgate Moor and the River Wear. The origin of the place-name is from the Old English words ''fram'' and ''wella'' toget ...

area of the City of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. The oldest part is an open hall house dating from the 13th or 14th century, built in sandstone with a Welsh slate roof. It is the only known domestic open hall in County Durham. In the 17th century the hall was extended to form a Jacobean manor house; then in the 18th century a large brick

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

house was appended to the 17th-century wing, making up a house of 11 bays in all. It is surrounded by English country style gardens.

History

The Manor of Sydgate was granted in 1217 to Aimery, son of the then

Archdeacon of Durham The Archdeacon of Durham is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the diocese of Durham (Church of England). They have, within the geographical area the ''archdeaconry of Durham'', pastoral oversight of clergy and care of church buildings (among other ...

, from whose family it passed to Peter del Croke, after whom it is named. From him it passed to the Billingham family, who occupied the hall for some 300 years. In 1657 it passed to the Mickletons until it was bought in 1736 by the Hoppers of

Shincliffe Shincliffe is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. The parish population (according to the 2011 census) was 1,796. It is situated just over to the south-east of Durham city centre, on the A177 road to Stockton. Shincliffe is ...

. Since then there has been a succession of different owners until it was bought in a semi-derelict condition by the Cassels in 1928. The building is reputedly haunted by the "White Lady". In 1995, the property was bought by Keith and Maggie Bell who progressively opened the hall and gardens to the public, becoming a major wedding venue. Visitors from around the world come to wander around the gardens as well as the Hall. The gardens are seen as one of the best in the north of England. Keith Bell wrote a book in 2017 called ''Blood, Sweat and Scones – two decades at Crook Hall'' (). In it he describes their period of ownership, and the trials and tribulations of owning a Grade I listed building and creating a successful business/tourist attraction. In June 2020 the property closed to the public as the business went into liquidation as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and associated lockdowns. The property was subsequently put on the market with a guide price of £1.8 million. On 28 March 2022, the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

announced that it had acquired the property, with the intention of re-opening it to visitors.

References

{{reflist

External links

Tourist information

Official website
Grade I listed buildings in County Durham Buildings and structures in Durham, England