Stanhope, Bishop Auckland, County Durham

Historical note
Unthank Hall is a Grade II* listed residence, unusually configured in an L-shape. Pevsner described it as a ‘handsome building constructed in the 17th century yet with older fabric and walled yards and gardens’, and it remains today one of the oldest unaltered L-shaped manor houses in the North of England.

There are references to a house existing on the site before 1200 and explicitly 'the manor of Unthank' from 1395. Many interesting features are evident throughout the house, indicating origins dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th century; the purist will note the Tudor-arched fireplace, additional stone fireplaces, mullioned windows, flagstone floors, exposed beams, and wall panelling.

In Bishop Skirlaw’s time, William de Marley the Elder, is said to have lost his life when the manor was seized by William Maddison of Aldergill. The property subsequently descended to the Westgarth family, the last of whom married Henry Hildyard in 1780. Since that time, the house has remained in the Hildyard family, whose other properties included Horsley Hall and the Estate nearby, Stokesley Manor House and Hutton Bonville Hall. Therefore it may be claimed that this is the first time that Unthank Hall has been sold on the open market for at least 400 years.

The property
Unthank Hall is a substantial Grade II* listed residence, offering a unique opportunity for those seeking a property of immense character and charm; a truly rural idyll. The house is admirably situated on the southern bank of the River Wear, with views towards the Weardale Hills, and the tranquil rural setting belies its proximity to local amenities.

The delightful gardens and grounds provide an ideal setting for the house and combine to create a most appealing and fascinating home that is at one with its surroundings. The house, exuding a high level of architectural appeal, showcases a distinctive entrance porch with five-light mullioned windows, and a stone flagged roof with a large stepped chimney at the rear. Whilst well considered and sympathetic renovation is evident throughout, the house would benefit from further modernisation and would suit those seeking to put their own stamp on it. This is a unique, relaxed home where the sense of the building’s history is ubiquitous and conveys a sense of calm and tranquillity.

The ground floor accommodation is entered via a reception hall and includes a well-proportioned drawing room with exposed wood flooring, a traditional open fireplace with log grate, a sash window with built-in seating and working window shutters. Across the hall is a family room with flagstone flooring, built-in window seating and a striking Tudor-arched inglenook fireplace with a multi-fuel stove. There is also a spacious sitting room with timber wall panelling, exposed wooden flooring, an open fireplace, and twin sash windows with working shutters.

The adjacent kitchen/breakfast room is spacious and features flagstone flooring, a range of wall and base units, Belfast sink and a fireplace with bread oven and wood burning stove.

A generous fitted utility room, and a cloakroom completes the accommodation on the ground floor.

Accessible via a stone winder staircase in the reception hall and a separate winder staircase rising from the kitchen, the first floor accommodation, featuring a wealth of wall panelling, is arranged around a large landing with a fireplace and provides four spacious double bedrooms, all with fireplaces, and one with an adjoining room that could be utilised as a dressing room or additional bedroom.

There is also a family bathroom featuring a claw footed stand-alone bath, and a separate family shower room on this floor, whilst the upper level plays host to a bedroom with an en suite shower room, three further bedrooms, and two attic rooms that could be renovated to provide two additional bedrooms.

The property is approached over a gravelled driveway providing parking for multiple vehicles and affording access to a large external store. Extending to 1.80 acres, the grounds comprise two spacious stone-walled garden paddocks, a flagstone yard and a more formal garden which envelopes the house to the north and west.

Various spots within the grounds provide ideal entertaining and ‘al fresco’ dining space and take full advantage of the far reaching views over surrounding countryside and a path, planted with various shrubs to each side paves the way to the North where a gate opens onto a small road and the River Wear.

Unthank Hall occupies a stunning position to the south of the River Wear on the fringes of the small countryside village of Stanhope, an increasingly popular tourist destination set in the Weardale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The village offers a wide range of day-to-day amenities including a local shopping, public houses, GP and dental surgeries, a pharmacist and a popular primary school. More extensive shopping, leisure and recreational facilities can be found in Bishop Auckland, Barnard Castle and Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne city centre and its airport are within easy reach.

Communications links are excellent: the A689 provides easy access east to Wolsingham before joining the A68 trunk road which leads north to the Tyne Valley and south towards Darlington and the A1, the A1(M) gives easy access to the national motorway network and Bishop Auckland station offers regular services to Edinburgh, Leeds and York and a journey time to London Kings Cross of just over three hours.

The area offers a good range of state schooling including Stanhope Barrington C of E Primary School in the village and Wolsingham School together with Barnard Castle independent school.