Hesleyside Hall is a privately owned 18th-century country house and the ancestral home of the

Border reiver Border reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their v ...

Charlton family about west of Bellingham,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.Keys to the Past
The Charltons have been at Hesleyside since the 14th century. The present mansion, believed to be built on the site of a 14th-century

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

, was built in 1719. The grounds were laid out by

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

in 1776 and the east front was remodelled by architect William Newton in 1796. Edward Charlton was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1645. Later Charltons served as

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1721 and 1837, and as Deputy Lieutenant. The adjacent stable block (a Grade II listed building) incorporates a 1747 date stone The Spur of the Charlton is a 16th-century spur located at the hall which was occasionally served to the head of the household on a platter, as an indication that food was low and it was necessary to go

cattle raiding Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

. Hesleyside Hall is currently managed by William and Anna Charlton, who have carried out extensive conservation and upgrade work and diversified the estate to include bed and breakfast

shepherd's hut The shepherd's hut (or shepherd's wagon) was, since the 15th century and into the 20th century, used by shepherds during sheep raising and lambing, primarily in the United Kingdom and France. Shepherd's huts often had iron wheels and corrugate ...

s in the grounds. In 2015 Hesleyside Hall appeared on the television show '' Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green''.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Bellingham, Northumberland