View source for Crook Hall, Durham

{{Infobox NT
|name=Crook Hall
|county=Durham
|picture=Crook Hall from the gardens.jpg
|picture caption=The hall from its Georgian walled garden
|os grid ref=NZ27454315
|latitude=54.7825
|longitude=-1.5747
|built=13th-14th century /<br />18th century
|type=Country house
|garden=yes
|website={{NT link|Crook Hall Gardens}}
}}
'''Crook Hall''' is a Grade I listed house built in the 13th or 14th to 18th centuries, located in the [[Framwelgate]] area at the edge of the City of [[Durham]], in [[County Durham]].<ref name=l>{{NHLE|1159909|Crook Hall|grade=I}}</ref>

The house and gardens were acquired by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] in 2022.

The oldest part is an open hall house dating from the 13th or 14th century, built in sandstone with a Welsh slate roof.  It is the only known domestic open hall in [[County Durham]]. In the 17th century the hall was extended to form a Jacobean manor house; then in the 18th century a large brick Georgian house was appended to the 17th-century wing, making up a house of 11 bays in all.

The house is surrounded by country style gardens,<ref name=l/><ref name='thehouse'>{{cite web|url=http://crookhallgardens.co.uk/house/|title=The House|website=Crook Hall and Gardens|access-date=15 April 2019}}</ref> seen as among the best in the north of England.

==History==
[[File:Crook Hall medieval hall interior.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Inside the mediæval hall]]
The Manor of Sydgate was granted in 1217 to Aimery, son of the then Archdeacon of Durham, from whose family it passed to Peter del Croke, after whom it is named. From him, it passed to the Billingham family, who occupied the hall for some 300 years.

In 1657, the estate passed to the Mickletons until it was bought in 1736 by the Hoppers of [[Shincliffe]]. Since then there has been a succession of different owners until it was bought in a semi-derelict condition by the Cassels in 1928. 

In 1995, the property was bought by Keith and Maggie Bell, who progressively opened the hall and gardens to the public, becoming a major wedding venue. Visitors from around the world came to wander around the gardens as well as the Hall. Keith Bell wrote a book in 2017 called ''Blood, Sweat and Scones – two decades at Crook Hall'' ({{ISBN|978-1-78803-528-6}}). In it, he describes their period of ownership, and the trials and tribulations of owning a Grade I listed building and creating a successful business/tourist attraction. In June 2020 the property closed to the public as the business went into liquidation as a result of the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>'[https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18527356.crook-hall-gardens-durham-close-good Crook Hall and Gardens, Durham, to close down for good]': Georgia Banks in ''The Northern Echo'' 19 June 2020</ref> The property was subsequently put on the market with a guide price of £1.8 million.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/news/19365928.see-inside-1-8m-crook-hall-goes-market/ |title=See inside as £1.8m Crook Hall goes on the market |last=Hunt |first=Moira |publisher=Darlington and Stockton Times |date=13 June 2021 |access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref>

On 28 March 2022, the National Trust announced that it had acquired the property, with the intention of re-opening it to visitors.<ref>{{cite web|last=Engelbrecht|first=Gavin|title=National Trust plans to reopen Durham's Crook Hall|publisher=The Northern Echo|work=thenorthernecho.co.uk|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20025677.national-trust-plans-reopen-durhams-crook-hall/|date=2022-03-28|accessdate=2022-06-24}}</ref>

==Outside links==
*{{NT link|Crook Hall Gardens}}: National Trust
*[http://www.thisisdurham.com/things-to-do/durham-attractions/crook-hall-and-gardens-p22031 Tourist information]

==References==
{{reflist}}