Spartylea

Hamsterley Hall

Hamsterley Mill · 18 miles

A castellated Gothic-Revival mansion set in the hamlet of Hamsterley, near Rowlands Gill in County Durham, stands as a notable example of an 18th-century English country house. Recorded on mapping services as a stately castle, the building is situated close to the village of Hamsterley Mill and carries a Grade II* listing, indicating its particular architectural and historic interest. The estate entered the Swinburne family in 1762 when Sir John Swinburne, Baronet, transferred it to his younger brother Henry. Henry Swinburne commissioned extensive works in 1769, reshaping the earlier house into the present two-storey, four-bay structure with a castellated roofline that defines its Gothic character. After Henry’s death in 1803, the property changed hands in 1806, being bought by Anthony Surtees. His son, the novelist Robert Smith Surtees, acquired the hall in 1838 and later served as High Sheriff of Durham in 1856. Following his death in 1864, the estate passed to his daughter Eleanor, who married John Gage Prendergast Vereker, the 5th Viscount Gort, in 1885. Their lineage continued at Hamsterley Hall, with John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, and later his brother Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount, residing there until the latter’s death in 1975.

Turret 33B (Coesike)

Greenhaugh · 8.1 miles

Former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia

Robin Hood Tree

Once Brewed · 8.1 miles

Tourist attraction and famous photographic subject. Believed to have been deliberately felled on the night of the 27th-28th Sep 2023: https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2023-09-28/world-famous-sycamore-gap-tree-believed-to-have-been-deliberately-felled

Ventilating Furnace

Allenheads · 9.3 miles

Remains of ventilating furnace at top of Middlehopehead air shaft for ventilating Burtree Pasture Mine.

Middlehope Old Workings

Middle Blackdene · 11 miles

Site of old lead workings

Turret 44B (Mucklebank)

Greenhead · 12 miles

Ruins of a Roman Tower