Witton-le-Wear

Hamsterley Hall

Hamsterley Mill · 15 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.

Gibside

Lockhaugh · 17 miles

A Georgian landscaped park set in the Derwent valley on the Tyne and Wear–County Durham border offers a range of historic structures within a largely wooded estate. The grounds lie between Rowlands Gill and Burnopfield, close to the village of Lockhaugh, and are managed by the National Trust. Visitors can walk the avenue of oaks to the Palladian chapel designed by James Paine, explore the ruined shell of Gibside Hall – a Grade II* listed 17th-century house – and view the orangery built for Mary Eleanor Bowes in the early 1770s. The banqueting house, now in the care of the Landmark Trust, and other features such as a column of Liberty, a stable block and extensive forested areas remain part of the public landscape. The estate originated in the mid-13th century, passing to the Blakiston family in about 1540 and later to the Bowes family through the 1693 marriage of Elizabeth Blakiston and Sir William Bowes. Sir George Bowes expanded the park in the 18th century, employing designers Stephen Switzer and William Joyce, while later Bowes-Lyon owners added the chapel (1760-1812) and further landscaping. Throughout the 20th century the property was sold piecemeal; today the National Trust holds most of the land, preserving the historic ambience for visitors.

Castle Steads

Quebec · 7.5 miles

Site Of Medieval Manor House

Lanchester Roman Fort (Longovicium)

Lanchester · 9.9 miles

Roman fort. Auxiliary castra on Dere Street, in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior.

View of Cathedral, Mill and weir

Durham · 9.9 miles

the classic view of the wier on the River Wear, the Old Fulling Mill, and Durham Cathedral

Stony Beck Lake

Bishop Middleham · 12 miles

Formerly seasonal lake that is now virtually permanent