Gosforth House now known as Brandling House is a

Grade II 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, H ...

built as a mansion house and now serving as a hospitality and conference centre at Gosforth Park Racecourse,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

The

Gosforth Park Gosforth Park is a park north of Gosforth in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It houses Newcastle Racecourse, Virgin Money Unity Arena, a Britannia hotel, two golf courses, a garden centre and a football centre. It is also home to G ...

estate of about was owned from about 1509 by the Brandling family. The house was built between 1755 and 1764 for Charles Brandling (1733–1802) to a design by architect James Paine. Brandling also laid out the park and a lake.

Charles John Brandling Charles John Brandling (4 February 1769 – 1 February 1826) was an English MP and coal owner. He was the son of Charles Brandling (1733–1802) of Gosforth House, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He succeeded his father as MP for Newcastle in 1798, ...

(1769–1826) suffered financial problems as a result of which the estate was sold, in 1852, to Thomas Smith. In 1880, the house was sold with to High Gosforth Park Ltd, a company formed to establish a racecourse on the estate. A fire started by

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

in 1914 destroyed the interior of the property.

Norah Balls Norah Elizabeth Balls (3 August 1886 – 26 May 1980) was a British suffragette, women's rights campaigner, magistrate and councillor. She was a co-founder of the Girl Guides movement in Northumberland. Early life Norah Elizabeth Balls was b ...

admitted late in life to having been involved in the arson attack. Restoration of the house took place in 1921.

References

External links

British Listed Buildings, Gosforth House
Grade II listed buildings in Tyne and Wear History of Tyne and Wear Country houses in Tyne and Wear {{TyneandWear-struct-stub