Chesters is an 18th-century country mansion adjacent to Hadrian's Wall and the Roman fort of

Cilurnum Cilurnum or Cilurvum was a fort on Hadrian's Wall mentioned in the '' Notitia Dignitatum''. It is now identified with the fort found at Chesters (also known as Walwick Chesters to distinguish it from other sites named Chesters in the vicinity ...

at Humshaugh,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, 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 Ab ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is 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 Ire ...

Chesters Stud and Chesters Feed Supplies - geograph

The house was built for John Errington of

Walwick Grange Walwick Grange is a privately owned 18th-century country house ( now a farmhouse) situated on the bank of the River North Tyne close to Hadrian's Wall at Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense ...

''The Beauties of England and Wales; Delineations Topographical, Historical and Descriptive'' Vol XII Pt I Rev J Hodgson and FC Laird (1813) p135 Google Books in about 1771 with three storeys and four bays but was much improved and extended by architect

Norman Shaw Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...

in 1891. The 1891 work included five two-storeyed three-bay wings and a stable block. The stable block is separately Grade II* listed. Of the five wings, three were diagonal, creating suntrap flanks for the south and west fronts. Shaw's remodelling of Chesters kindled the popularity of the

butterfly plan A Butterfly plan, also known as a Double Suntrap plan, is a type of architectural plan in which two or more wings of a house are constructed at an angle to the core, usually at approximately 45 degrees to the wall of the core building. It was used ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The estate was acquired by Nathaniel Clayton (Town Clerk of Newcastle upon Tyne 1785–1822) in 1796. His son

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing * John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer * John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer * John Clayton (sportswriter) (1954–2022), American sportswriter ...

, who succeeded him as Town Clerk in 1822, was a keen antiquarian and excavated the ruins of the Roman fort of Cilurnam adjacent to the house. He made a large collection of Roman artefacts, which is now displayed at Chesters Museum.

References

External links

Keys to the Past
{{coord, 55.027, -2.145, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Grade II* listed houses Houses completed in 1771 Richard Norman Shaw buildings