Crook Hall is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

house built in the 13th or 14th to 18th centuries, located in the Framwelgate area of the City of Durham. The oldest part is an open

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

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 County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. In the 17th century the hall was extended to form a Jacobean manor house; then in the 18th century a large brick Georgian 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, seen as among the best in the north of England.

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 othe ...

, 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 United Kingdom census, 2011 census) was 1,796. It is situated just over to the south-east of Durham, England, Durham city centre, on ...

. Since then there has been a succession of different owners until it was bought in a semi-derelict condition by the Cassels in 1928. 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 came to wander around the gardens as well as the Hall. 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

announced that it had acquired the property, with the intention of re-opening it to visitors. , the hall and gardens, a book shop and a cafe are open to visitors.National Trust
Crook Hall Gardens
accessed 8 June 2024 The building is reputedly haunted by the "White Lady".

References

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External links

Tourist information

National Trust site
Grade I listed buildings in County Durham Buildings and structures in Durham, England Hall houses Gardens in County Durham National Trust properties in County Durham