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The Croxdale Hall Estate at
since 1993. , they are on
''History of the County of Durham'' (1928) Vol 3 pp157–174 via British History online
''Visit North East England'' entry on Croxdale Hall
archived in 2011 {{coord, display=title Country houses in County Durham Grade I listed buildings in County Durham
The Croxdale Hall Estate at Croxdale
Croxdale is a village in the civil parish of Croxdale and Hett, situated about south of Durham City, in County Durham, England and on the A167 road, formerly part of the Great North Road. It is on the route of the East Coast Main Line and at on ...
near Sunderland Bridge, County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England, has been owned by the Salvin family since the 15th century. Its principal building is the Grade I listed
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 ...
Croxdale Hall.
Ownership
The staunchlyRoman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
Salvin family came to Croxdale by the marriage in 1402 of Gerard Salvin of Harswell
Harswell is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Everingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is approximately west of Market Weighton town centre, south of Pocklington town centre, and west of the A614 road. ...
, Yorkshire, to Agnes de Rissaby, heiress of Croxdale. They have held the property ever since. Records of the Salvin family are held by Durham County Record Office.
Croxdale Hall
The house, originally in Tudor style, dates from the 17th century. Major alterations in about 1760 were carried out for William Salvin, probably to designs by architect John Carr, including the two-storey seven-bay west entrance front. The impressive internalRococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
plasterwork dates from this time.
A three-walled garden and lakes were laid out in the mid-18th century, creating a pleasure ground through which the family could demonstrate their wealth and status with the exotic plants they acquired through their gardener John Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
(1719–1790), his Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
It ...
-based nurseryman brother Lewis Kennedy (1721–1782), and his business partner James Lee (1715–1795). The gardens have been listed at Grade II* on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England #REDIRECT Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England
{{R from move ...
{{R from move ...Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...
's Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
regarding the condition of walls and water features.
Further alterations to the house by architect James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...
in about 1807 included the addition of a five-bay south wing and the insertion of a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
-style Roman Catholic chapel into the 18th-century north wing.
The house served as a military hospital from 1940 to 1945 and then as a maternity home until at least 1954. It was designated as Grade I listed in 1967. More recently, the hall has been restored as a family home. It is open to the public by appointment.
Other buildings
A disused 12th-century chapel which stands in the grounds is aScheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
and also 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 ...
. It was in use as a chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
to St Oswalds, Elvet
Elvet is an area of the city of Durham, England, Durham, in County Durham, England. It is situated on the opposite side of the River Wear from Durham Cathedral and forms the south-eastern part of central Durham.
Name
The name ''Elvet'' is re ...
, until the new parish church of St. Bartholomew was built by the Salvins in 1845. Although it was repaired around 2021, the building is on the Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
owing to "unresolved damp issues".
Also in the grounds is an 18th-century house (Grade II* listed
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, H ...
) which housed the priests who served as chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
s to the Salvin family.
References
External links
*''History of the County of Durham'' (1928) Vol 3 pp157–174 via British History online
''Visit North East England'' entry on Croxdale Hall
archived in 2011 {{coord, display=title Country houses in County Durham Grade I listed buildings in County Durham