Belsay Hall reopens following major conservation project

Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens in Northumberland has reopened to the public after a major two-year conservation and revival project carried out by English Heritage.

Partially funded by a £3.4m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as support from Garfield Weston Foundation and the Foyle Foundation, the project included work to conserve the venue’s historic hall, castle and coach house and a rejuvenation of the property’s 30-acre gardens.

“The Belsay that visitors see today comprises three distinct but related elements: a medieval castle, a Greek-Revival country house, which superseded it as a family residence at the beginning of the 19th century, and a beautiful garden linking the two buildings,” said Mark Douglas, English Heritage’s Properties Curator.

The property, designed by Sir Charles Monk, is one of the earliest Greek Revival houses in Britain.

The restoration addressed problems including a leaking roof and gutters that had been causing damp issues for over two hundred years and the loss of much of the original planting material in the venue’s Grade I-listed gardens.

The original roof has now been replaced and the castle’s medieval stonework repaired. The gardens have been restored by landscape designer and gardener Dan Pearson, who planned a new scheme that maintained its historic character.

Pearson and his team planted more than 80,000 new plants, with 35,000 alone in the hall’s woodland area. The project also restored previously lost historic views on Crag Wood’s scenic walk.

Pearson’s “plantsmanship and painterly eye have helped to bring out the individual character of the extensive garden areas,” said John Watkins, English Heritage’s Head of Gardens and Landscapes.

The upgraded site includes a new projected animation and soundscape centring on the story of The Wildman, a medieval mythical figure which features on the coat of arms of the Middleton family, who owned Belsay for over 700 years.

It also includes new family-friendly spaces, a children’s woodland play-and-learn area with an outdoor classroom and a café with renewable energy and rainwater harvesting located in the historic coach house.