Charlton Hall near

Ellingham, Northumberland Ellingham is a civil parish in Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, ...

, is a building of historical significance and is listed Grade II* on the English Heritage Register. It was built in the late 18th century by the notable architect William Newton for the Cay family. It was the residence of several prominent people over the next three centuries and is now a luxury wedding venue.

The Cay family

Sir Henry Raeburn - Robert Hodshon Cay - Google Art Project

Jabez Cay (1666–1703) bought the Charlton estate in 1696. It then passed through the Cay family until 1782 when it was inherited by

Robert Hodshon Cay Robert Hodshon Cay FSSA LLD (7 July 1758 – 31 March 1810) was Judge Admiral of Scotland overseeing naval trials. He was husband of the artist Elizabeth Liddell, father of John Cay FRSE and maternal grandfather of James Clerk Maxwell. Life ...

(1758–1810) who commissioned William Newton to build the new hall. Robert was born in 1758. His father was John Cay (1727–1782) and his mother was Frances Hodshon, daughter of Ralph Hodshon of Lintz Hall, Durham. He was educated at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and obtained a law degree. He later became Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In 1789, shortly after he built Charlton Hall, he married

Elizabeth Liddell Elizabeth Liddell, later Mrs. Robert Hodshon Cay, (22 February 1770 – 1831) was an amateur British artist specialising in pastel portraits. She was wife of Robert Hodshon Cay, mother of John Cay, mother-in-law of John Clerk-Maxwell of Middle ...

(1770–1831), daughter of John Liddell of

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

. She was an accomplished artist and her work is still discussed today. The couple had nine children, one being the mother of the famous physicist

James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...

. When Robert died in 1810 his eldest son John Cay (1790–1865) inherited Charlton Hall. John was a lawyer, an antiquarian and a pioneer photographer. In 1819 he married Emily Bullock, the daughter of William Bullock of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. The couple had seven children. In 1849 he decided to sell Charlton Hall and he placed an advertisement in the newspaper which described the house in the following terms. ''"Charlton Hall is a pleasantly situated mansion house containing entrance hall, drawing room, dining room, breakfast room, library, housekeeper’s room, seven bed rooms, two water closets, kitchen, three servants bedrooms, cellars and other conveniences, a double coach house, four stalled stable and harness room"''.

Later residents

William Spours (1800-1878), a lawyer and landowner, bought the property. He was born in 1800 in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

and married Mary Shepherd. He died in 1878 and the house was again advertised for sale. It was purchased by the Reverend William Tudor Thorp. Reverend William Tudor Thorp (1841-1919) was born in 1841 in

. His father was Thomas Thorp (1805-1854), an Attorney, and his mother was Elizabeth Jane Tudor. He was educated at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and obtained his BA. In 1863 he married Emily Sarah West (1839-1871) and the couple had three children. She died in 1871 and in 1875 he married Mary Louisa Jones (1850-1904), who was the daughter of Dr John Jones of Langstone Court. They had six children: five sons and one daughter. Their youngest son was Reginald Pearce Thorp (1884-1980), who was the father of the penultimate Thorp family owner of Charlton Hall, Reginald William Tudor Thorp. (1915-2003) MBE. Charlton Hall was acquired by the entrepreneur Richard Shell in May 2017 and is now a luxury wedding venue. He also operates Doxford Barns wedding venue on the neighbouring Doxford Estate.Charlton Hall Website
Online reference
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References

External links

Charlton Hall website
{{coord, 55.49488, N, 1.71826, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Country houses in Northumberland Eglingham Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland