Low Dinsdale Manor is a privately owned, much altered, and extended medieval moated fortified
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
situated on the north bank of the
River Tees at
Low Dinsdale
Low Dinsdale is a village and former civil parish in the borough of Darlington (borough), Darlington and the ceremonial county of
County Durham, England. The Parish population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 871. It is s ...
, near
Darlington,
County Durham,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. 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 Ir ...
.
The manor was owned by the Surtees family from the 12th century. Several members of the Surtees of Dinsdale family 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 1511 on the death of the last male of the family it passed to his daughter Katherine Place. Rowland Place was
High Sheriff of Durham in 1654. The house was the birthplace of his son artist
Francis Place
Francis Place (3 November 1771 in London – 1 January 1854 in London) was an English social reformer.
Early life
He was an illegitimate son of Simon Place and Mary Gray. His father was originally a journeyman baker. He then became a Marshalse ...
(1647–1728). In 1718 the manor was sold to Cuthbert Routh and in 1770 to John Lambton of Lambton. In 1789 a mineral spring was discovered on the estate and a
Spa was established. Lambton's son
John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham
John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, (12 April 1792 – 28 July 1840), also known as "Radical Jack" and commonly referred to in Canadian history texts simply as Lord Durham, was a British Whig statesman, colonial administrator, Governor G ...
built
Dinsdale Spa Hotel in 1829.
In 1844 the Earl sold the manor to Henry George Surtees (
High Sheriff of Durham 1862) a descendant of the ancient family. He substantially extended and altered the house in 1876 adding new bays to the medieval core and two cross-gabled wings.
In 1914 the manor was sold to
Sir Henry Havelock-Allan Bt.
A large part of the estate was sold for the creation of a golf course.