English Gardens - Crook Hall County Durham
Medieval House, Shakespeare Garden, Maze and Meadows, Plus a Ghost
Jul 14, 2008
Surrounding the Hall are five acres of romantic gardens and, unlike many of England’s large city gardens which have mostly disappeared, Crook Hall Gardens are only a few hundred yards from the centre of Durham city.
English Gardens - Crook Hall
Building began 800 years ago. It is an exceptional building and illustrates the three major architectural styles from 1300 to 1750: Medieval, Jacobean and Georgian. What makes it different from many old manor houses is that it has developed over the centuries; buildings from three different periods have survived and they complement each other very happily.
The present river-facing frontage is Georgian, built in brick in 1720. Slightly to one side is the stone-built 17th-century section, and behind that is the fabulous13th-century hall where traces of its moat still remain.
Although it is now practically ‘down town’, originally it was essentially rural. It was at the centre of a large agricultural estate and was built as a fortified manor house to defend its livestock and workers from marauding Scottish raiders. It remained a working farm right up to the 19th-century.
To illustrate just how close to the city it now is, you can sit in the walled garden and admire the view of 9th-century Durham Cathedral. William Wordsworth and John Ruskin also visited the walled garden and most likely also enjoyed the view.
English Gardens - Ghost of Crook Hall
Like many old houses, Crook Hall is reputed to have a residential ghost, the White Lady. The present owners will tell you that lots of visitors have reported seeing the lady but they themselves have not - not yet, anyway.
The house is lived in by the family who own it and a large part of it is open to the public. When you have finished exploring the gardens you can sit down to a traditional English cream tea of home-made scones, fresh dairy cream and strawberry jam plus, of course, a pot of English tea.
Crook Hall Gardens
The gardens are divided into different ‘themes’, all with their own history. Some have been here for centuries whilst others are rather more recent additions. The walled gardens have been here the longest. The second walled garden was a formal Georgian garden in the 1700’s. Its ancient doorway leads in into the medieval part of the house. The date of the last remodelling, in 1671, is carved into the stone above the door.
There are ten small areas, each with a different theme/flavour. For example, there’s the Shakespeare Garden which is crammed with plants that would have filled Elizabethan gardens: primroses, forget-me-nots, fennel and feverfew, plus many more.
Peace and tranquility is appropriate in the Cathedral Garden, where the flower beds are planted in such a way that they represent stained glass windows and the hedges are cut to represent the spires of the Cathedral.
There’s also a Moatpool and Ponds, an Orchard (where you can help yourself to the fruit), and a Silver and White garden, plus a few more.
For children there’s a Maze in which they can happily get lost. It is low enough for parents to keep an eye on them.
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