Walworth Castle is an 11th-century castle, situated at Walworth, near

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

, County Durham, England. It is a Grade 1

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 I ...

. It was completed around 1600, probably by Thomas Holt for Thomas Jenison. It stands on the site of a former manor house or castle built in the 12th century by the Hansard family. The estate passed through the hands of the Ayscoughs and Aylmers besides the Hansards and Jenisons, and became a

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and then a girls'

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

after the war. It has been a hotel since 1981.

History

Hansard and Ayscough families

The present manor house stands on the site of a previous manor house or castle which was built around 1150 by the Hansard family. There is no evidence that the building was ever used for defence. The title to the castle fell into the hands of the

House of Neville The Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the later Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and playe ...

after the 1349

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

, but was reclaimed by Robert Hansard in 1391. The castle then passed to Sir Richard Hansard in 1395, his son Richard in 1454, his grandson Richard in 1466, Sir William Hansard in 1508, Sir William's short−lived son William in 1521, and to William Jr.'s infant daughter Elizabeth Hansard in 1521. In 1539 Elizabeth married Sir Francis Ayscough, so the castle passed to the Ayscough family. In 1563 the castle passed to her son William Ayscough, but because there were no further heirs the castle was sold.

Jenison family

In about 1579 Thomas Jennison, Auditor General of Ireland (d.1579), purchased from the Ascough family the manor of High Walworth.''An Historical ,Topographical and Descriptive View of the County of Durham'' McKenzie and Ross (1834) p171 Google Books The manor included a manor house or medieval castle on this site; he demolished most of it apart from the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

south−west tower and built the present castle, whose fabric is still identifiable as 16th century in date. It is thought that Jennison's architect was probably Thomas Holt. In 1586 Jenison died, and his widow Elizabeth ''née'' Birch inherited the castle. It was during her ownership that King James VI of Scotland stayed here on 14 May 1603 while travelling to his coronation as king of England. It is said that the king knighted her son−in−law George Freville in return for bountiful entertainment at the castle. In 1605 Elizabeth Jenison died and her son William Jenison inherited the castle. It became dilapidated because he did not live there, because he was in debt and because in 1610 and 1612 he was imprisoned for being

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. The Jennisons were a strongly Catholic family. In 1679 Francis Jennison sold the estate and emigrated to Europe, possibly because in 1678 Thomas Jenison was accused of involvement in the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate ...

to assassinate Charles II, arrested by Titus Oates and thrown into

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

. In 1681 the castle was divided from the rest of the estate and awarded by Chancery to Robert Jenison. In 1687 the castle was reunited with its estate when Ralph Jenison bought the whole estate for £6,205. The castle was searched for arms in 1689 in response to suspicions of a potential rebellion against the

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

William III and

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife A ...

Ralph Jenison Ralph Jenison ( – 15 May 1758) of Elswick Hall near Newcastle, Northumberland and Walworth Castle, county Durham. was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1724 and 1758 Early life Jenison was baptized at Heighington, Co ...

inherited the castle at the age of 10 years in 1704. He later renovated the castle at great expense, and died in debt, so that the castle was again sold.

Stephenson, Harrison, Aylmer and Eade families

The castle was sold for £16,000 in 1759 to wine merchant Matthew Stephenson, and then to Newcastle merchant John Harrison in 1775. His daughter Anne (1778-1857) married in 1807 Arthur Aylmer (1772-1831, the youngest son of Sir FitzGerald Aylmer, 6th Bt.),

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer of the 68th Regiment of Foot, later promoted to

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

; the castle passed to the Aylmer family in 1819 at the death of John Harrison.''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'' Vol I, John Burke (1835) p177 Google Books After General Aylmer was buried in Heighington in 1831, John Harrison Aylmer inherited the castle. He repaired the roof and replaced previous soldier statues on the towers with pillars topped with balls, to look like the statues. However, in 1868 he, his wife and eldest son were killed in the Abergele rail disaster. His sons Vivian and Edmund, aged 12 and 9 respectively, inherited the castle. Vivian became

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

and a big game hunter who explored

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

and crossed the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004 ...

in 1885. He died in 1931, and he and his brother were buried in

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

. The castle was then sold to General Aylmer's descendants Neville and Charles Eade. In

, during the Eades' ownership, the castle was used as a

for 200 men including German and Italian officers, under the command of Major Rollin Holmes. In 1950

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, ...

bought the castle and it became a girls'

Hotel ownership

In 1981 the Council sold the castle, they renovated it and then it was opened as a hotel. It is currently part of the

Best Western hotels Best Western International, Inc. owns the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brand, which it licenses to over 4,700 hotels worldwide. The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America. ...

group in the UK.

Castle building

This Tudor castle, dating from around 1600, is a manor house built of partially rendered

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

rubble, and the roof is of

Welsh slate The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the la ...

. The west tower is older, and has gunloops, narrow trefoil−headed and round−headed windows. It has a main, south−facing building of five bays and three storeys between two four−storey, round, angle towers, with east and west wings on the north side, making up three sides of a square originally open to the north. However a range of early 19th century buildings on the north side of the square now encloses the courtyard. Until the early 21st century the building contained 17th century

glass Glass is a non- crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenchin ...

, which has been removed to the

Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoî ...

. Some flagstones of unknown date were discovered in situ in the cellar or basement of the castle in 2002. Internal renovation took place in 1740, so that the interior now has important mid−18th century features, such as

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

plasterwork and

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

details. In 1864 the main staircase was rebuilt and the west wing was given a new front. It is now a Grade I

. English Heritage: Images of England, listing and architectural details
/ref>

Walworth park

The parkland south of Walworth Castle was originally enclosed

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

land, and as such there is still evidence of ridge and furrow fields. This field system may be associated with the lost settlement at North Farm, Walworth; however a possible enclosure has been identified in the park, close by. That means that besides the lost settlement near the castle at North Farm there could have been a second and possibly sequential lost settlement, or the same settlement was scattered or moved. At the southern edge of the park there is evidence of a U−shaped earthwork which may be associated with the possible enclosure.

Grounds

North of the castle there is a 19th-century set of patched brick and squared stone garden walls, dressed stone gate piers with pyramid−shaped tops and a greenhouse which are listed. The glazed wooden greenhouse has a taller central section with two lower wings. A medal apparently belonging to Thomas Jennison, the 16th century builder of the castle, was found in 1937–1938 during road−widening work on Newton Lane. It was found under the north wall of the castle grounds, and it was engraved with an image of a bridge and Thomas Jennison's name. The 1870 Tudor revival castle lodge and gate is a

, because it imitates the medieval

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

ed style to match the castle. The lodge and gate piers are both battlemented and the single−storey, L−shaped building has corner towers and rock−faced masonry with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

dressing. Huts to the east of the castle have been identified as the possible site of the

. The gardens to the north of the castle, including the glasshouse, were owned separately from the castle grounds and used for

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

by 2003. They were sold again as a separate unit in 2010.

Walworth Castle today

The building has been open in the past on National Heritage weekends. The castle attracts imaginative stories of ghosts, and the hotel business has taken advantage of this in the past at

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

. The castle restaurant used to have variable reviews, however the restaurant earned a three−star classification from the RAC and AA in 2002. There have been problems with reduction of public transport access to the castle. In 2001 Walworth Castle Hotel became the 100th member to join Darlington and District Business Club. In celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002, there was a children's fancy dress party at the castle in aid of charity. Further charity fundraising events have been held at the castle including a car boot sale in 2002, and a Butterwick Children's Hospice event in 2003, which included staged Viking marauders. In 2007 the castle was lit up with pink light on the evening of

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

. In 2008 the castle was on the route of the Quaker Triathlon charity event, organised by the local

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

. In 2009 Darlington Education Village, previously Haughton School, held its formal ball at the castle. The building is used as a polling station during elections.

References

External links

Map of Walworth

Old map of Walworth: 1896–1913

Full Grade I listing details for Walworth Castle
{{Coord, 54.557630, -1.648966, source:geograph.co.uk_region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Country houses in County Durham Grade I listed buildings in County Durham Castles in County Durham History of County Durham Buildings and structures in the Borough of Darlington Hotels in County Durham