Nunwick Hall is a privately owned 18th-century
country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
near
Simonburn,
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, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
in
North East England
North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...
. The estate has been the home of the Allgood family since the 17th century. The 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, Hi ...
[ Keys to the Past, House]
/ref> but is not open to the public.
In 1738 Lancelot Allgood
Lancelot Allgood (11 February 1711 – 26 April 1782) was a British landowner and politician who served as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1746, and as member of parliament for Northumberland in the 10th Parliament of Great Britain between Fe ...
married his cousin Jane Allgood, who was heiress to the Nunwick estate,[''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland'' Pt I (1862) p14 Google Books] and they built the present three-storey five-bayed house [ to a ]Georgian style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...
design by architect Daniel Garrett.
Improvements made in 1829 by architect Ignatius Bonomi
Ignatius Bonomi (1787–1870) was an English architect and surveyor, with Italian origins by his father, strongly associated with Durham in north-east England.
Life
He was the son of an architect and draughtsman, Joseph Bonomi (1739&ndash ...
included a new entrance porch and east wing.
The grounds were laid out in 1760 and are protected as a Registered Historic Park and as a Grade II listed building. Keys to the Past, Grounds
/ref>
The ruinous Simonburn Castle to the west was partly rebuilt as a Gothic eye-catcher or folly in 1766, to be seen from Nunwick Hall, but has since collapsed.
High Sheriffs of Northumberland
Members of the Allgood family have served as High Sheriff of Northumberland
This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland.
The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...
:
* 1746: Lancelot Allgood of Nunwick Hall.
* 1786: James Allgood of Nunwick Hall.
* 1818: Robert Lancelot Allgood of Nunwick Hall.
* 1858: Lancelot John Hunter Allgood, of Nunwick Hall.
* 1954: Guy Hunter Allgood of Nunwick Hall, Simonsburn.
* 1984: Lancelot Guy Allgood, of Nunwick, Simonburn, Hexham.
References
{{reflist
Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland