Mowden is an area of west

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in the

Borough of Darlington The Borough of Darlington is a unitary authority area with borough status in County Durham, England. Since 1997 Darlington Borough Council has been a unitary authority; it is independent from Durham County Council. It is named after its largest ...

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 ...

, England. Nearby areas include

Hummersknott Hummersknott is an area in the western end of Darlington, County Durham England. It is a ward in the unitary authority of Darlington. It consists of mainly post-war houses, and is closely linked to Mowden. The population of the ward taken at the ...

to the south, Branksome to the north and

Cockerton Cockerton is an area in the north-west of Darlington in the borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The Cocker Beck flows through the area and empties into the River Skerne via The Denes, an area and string of valleyed parks donated for ...

to the north-east. Houses here date back to the 1960s. The area has a pre-school, primary school, a row shops and two local pubs, th
Mowden
and the Model T.

Former rugby ground

Mowden was previously home to Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club. In late 2012, the Club sold their ground at Yiewsley Drive to a housing developer and relocated to

The Darlington Arena The Darlington Arena is a rugby union stadium, located in Darlington, County Durham. The arena was opened in the summer of 2003, as the new home ground of Darlington F.C., following the decision to leave their previous ground, Feethams, afte ...

, a 25,000 all-seater stadium which was previously owned by

Darlington Football Club Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2024-25 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth level of English football. The club was founded in 188 ...

Mowden Hall

Mowden Hall is a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

house designed by

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

for the

Pease family The Pease family is an English and mostly Quaker family associated with Darlington, County Durham, and North Yorkshire, descended from Edward Pease of Darlington (1711–1785). They were 'one of the great Quaker industrialist families of the ni ...

; it is located on Staindrop Road. The hall was one of many large houses built for notable Quaker families in Darlington, another example being Polam Hall (now home to

Polam Hall School Polam Hall School is a mixed all-through school located in Darlington, County Durham, England. Polam Hall was founded as a Quaker "boarding school" for girls. It is now mixed-gender and inter-denominational but still retains its Quaker traditio ...

). John Beaumont Pease bought the farmland in the 1840s on which Mowden Hall stands and demolished the farm in 1862. He tried to make it private grounds by diverting an ancient footpath to High Coniscliffe. After his death, his son Edwin Lucas Pease continued to block the footpath, angering local people. He had promised to unblock the path. However, it was not, with a second path also being diverted. In 1875, a protest was held at the

Mechanics Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

, which resulted in councillors, mayors, solicitors and ramblers forming the Darlington Footpaths Preservation Society. A court battle went to the court of

Queen's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court of common law in ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, between Edwin Pease and the Society over the legality of his actions. The court ruled in favour of Pease, who used the monetary award to extend Mowden Hall in size. The Pease family owned the property until the 1920s. Edwin's son William Edwin Pease never married and Mowden Hall was inherited by a cousin Ernest Pease, who sold it in 1927 and moved to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

due to ill health. Mowden Hall School was founded at the hall in 1935 but pupils were forced to evacuate during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Stocksfield Stocksfield is a small village situated close to the River Tyne, about west of Newcastle upon Tyne in the southern part of Northumberland, England. There are several smaller communities within the parish of Stocksfield, including Branch ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. The hall switched hands several times before being sold to the government in 1966. The main occupier was the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

(and its predecessor agencies) and the Teachers' Pensions Agency. They moved out to new premises in the town in 2015. The hall reverted to usage as a school, Marchbank Free School for special needs children with socio-emotional and behavioural problems.; the office buildings on the site were demolished and replaced with housing.

Gallery

Fulthorpe Road Shops Darlington - geograph.org.uk - 1327159.jpg, Mowden Shops The Mowden. - geograph.org.uk - 150423.jpg, the Mowden public house Bushel Hill Park, Mowden, Darlington - geograph.org.uk - 1325379.jpg, Bushel Hill Park

References

External links

Darlington Mowden Park Rugby Club

Mowden Junior School
{{Darlington Suburbs of Darlington