Howick Hall, a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

in the village of Howick,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, is the ancestral seat of the

Earls Grey Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. It was the home of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845), after whom

Earl Grey tea Earl Grey tea is a tea blend which has been flavoured with oil of bergamot. The rind's fragrant oil is added to black tea to give Earl Grey its unique taste. Traditionally, Earl Grey was made from black teas such as Chinese keemun, and there ...

is named. Howick Hall is the location of the Howick Hall Gardens & Arboretum. Howick has been owned by the Grey family since 1319. A

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

, which once stood on the site and was demolished in 1780, was described in a survey of 1715 as "a most magnificent freestone edifice in a square figure, flat roofed and embattled" and with "a handsome court and gateway on the front". The Hall which stands on the site today was built in 1782 by Newcastle architect, William Newton. The entrance was originally on the south side. The 2nd Earl Grey employed George Wyatt in 1809 to enlarge the house by moving the entrance to the north side, filling out the front hall and the two quadrants linking the house to its wings, and building the first terrace on the south side. A fire destroyed the whole of the interior of the main house in 1926, with all of the contents of the top two floors. It was rebuilt in 1928 to designs by Sir

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...

, who altered the north façade by introducing a portico above the front hall in order to make the house smaller with an open well in the middle, with a rotunda linking the front and back on the ground floor. The family moved out of the main house shortly after the death of

Charles Grey, 5th Earl Grey Charles Robert Grey, 5th Earl Grey DL (15 December 1879 – 2 April 1963), styled Viscount Howick between 1894 and 1917, was an English nobleman, the son of Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey. Grey was born in London in 1879 and was the son of t ...

in 1963. In 1973 his grandson,

Charles Baring, 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale Charles Evelyn Baring, 2nd Baron Howick of Glendale (born 30 December 1937), is a member of the Baring family and the son of Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale. He is well known as an arboriculturalist and plant collector. He is the crea ...

, converted the west wing into a home, where he and his family now live.

References

External links

{{commons category, Howick Hall
Howick Hall Gardens & Arboretum website

The Bathing House
Built by the 2nd Earl to allow supervised bathing for his 16 children. Country houses in Northumberland Gardens in Northumberland Arboreta in England Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Grade II* listed houses Prime ministerial homes in the United Kingdom Grey family residences Longhoughton