Adderstone Hall
Encyclopedia
Adderstone Hall is a privately owned Georgian
Grecian mansion situated on the bank of the River Warn near Lucker
, Northumberland
. It is a Grade II* listed building from which the present owners operate a holiday park.
Adderstone was held by the Forster family, Governors of Bamburgh Castle
from the 12th century. A pele tower of which no trace now remains existed on or close to the site in 1415. Thomas Forster (1659–1725), High Sheriff of Northumberland
, built a new manor house in the early 18th century. The Forsters lived on the estate for over 600 years until they were ruined by the financial excesses of Sir William Forster (d 1700) and the involvement of Thomas Forster
(1683–1738) in the Jacobite uprising of 1715.
The property, already leased and subsequently acquired by the Watson family, passed briefly to John W Bacon of Staward Hall in 1763. The present hall was built in 1819 to a design by architect William Burn
The first Watson to be born at Adderstone (in 1760) was Captain John Watson whose son Sir William Watson, an MP and a baron of the Exchequer (1856) married Anne the sister of the great industrialist 1st Lord Armstrong of Cragside. Their son John William (born at Adderstone Hall 1827) had one son, Willam Henry Watson, who inherited Cragside and the Armstrong fortune from his great uncle, Lord Armstrong of Cragside who had bought Bamburgh castle in the 1894 after the death of his wife, Margaret Ramshaw, and began restoring the building with the intention of providing a convalescent home, but died (in 1900) before the work was completed. Adderstone was left to his sister Dorothy who married Noel Villiers in 1903 and lived at Adderstone Hall until she died in 1961, when the property was sold for the benefit of her many nephews and nieces.
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
Grecian mansion situated on the bank of the River Warn near Lucker
Lucker
Lucker is a village in the north-east of England. It is about 5 miles from Bamburgh . It has an inn, , and a church by the name of St Hilda's...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. It is a Grade II* listed building from which the present owners operate a holiday park.
Adderstone was held by the Forster family, Governors of Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle is an imposing castle located on the coast at Bamburgh in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...
from the 12th century. A pele tower of which no trace now remains existed on or close to the site in 1415. Thomas Forster (1659–1725), High Sheriff of Northumberland
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 most of the responsibilities associated with the post...
, built a new manor house in the early 18th century. The Forsters lived on the estate for over 600 years until they were ruined by the financial excesses of Sir William Forster (d 1700) and the involvement of Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster
Thomas Forster was a Northumbrian politician and landowner, who served as general of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising.-Life:...
(1683–1738) in the Jacobite uprising of 1715.
The property, already leased and subsequently acquired by the Watson family, passed briefly to John W Bacon of Staward Hall in 1763. The present hall was built in 1819 to a design by architect William Burn
William Burn
William Burn was a Scottish architect, pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of architect Robert Burn, and educated at the Royal High School. After training with the architect of the British Museum, Sir Robert Smirke, he returned to Edinburgh in 1812...
The first Watson to be born at Adderstone (in 1760) was Captain John Watson whose son Sir William Watson, an MP and a baron of the Exchequer (1856) married Anne the sister of the great industrialist 1st Lord Armstrong of Cragside. Their son John William (born at Adderstone Hall 1827) had one son, Willam Henry Watson, who inherited Cragside and the Armstrong fortune from his great uncle, Lord Armstrong of Cragside who had bought Bamburgh castle in the 1894 after the death of his wife, Margaret Ramshaw, and began restoring the building with the intention of providing a convalescent home, but died (in 1900) before the work was completed. Adderstone was left to his sister Dorothy who married Noel Villiers in 1903 and lived at Adderstone Hall until she died in 1961, when the property was sold for the benefit of her many nephews and nieces.