Thornton Hall is a privately owned 16th century manor house (now a farmhouse) at High Coniscliffe, near
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" ...
, County Durham. It is a
Grade I listed building
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 ...
.
The house was built in about 1550 for Ralph Talbois. The gabled central block of two storeys plus attics was originally flanked by gabled crosswings. The right wing remains. The left wing has been removed. A two-storey entrance porch offcentre carries an embattled parapet.
The last of the Talbois died in 1606. By about 1630 the manor had passed to Henry Bowes, Sheriff of Newcastle. The rear range was added in about 1630 by Sir Francis Bowes who was
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 1664 and who was attainted for his part in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
and was obliged to compound for the return of his forfeited estate. Elizabeth Bowes heiress to the property married Rev Robert Croft who was the owner in 1834.
The present owners Mr and Mrs Manners of Manners Farms Ltd have restored the two acre medieval garden which has been opened to the public.
References
* Architectural description of Thornton Hall.
* ''An Historical Topographical and Descriptive View of the County of Durham'' Vol 2. McKenzie and Ross (1834) p180. Google Books.
Grade I listed buildings in County Durham
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