Washington Old Hall

Over het museum

Washington Old Hall stands in Washington village. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was the seat of the lords of the manor of Wessyngton, who rented it from the Bishops of Durham and whose family name later became Washington. George Washington, the first president of the United States, descended from a branch of this family that left the manor around 1292. The tenancy passed to the Tempest family in 1402.

In 1613 the manor was bought by William James, Bishop of Durham, for his youngest son Francis. Before 1645 Francis rebuilt the medieval hall as a two-storey house, keeping some older features such as the pointed arches at the west end of the Great Hall. After the bishop's grandson William died in 1662 and his only surviving son a year later, the estate was divided between four sisters and began to decline.

In the 18th century the hall was let out, and in the 19th century it was split into separate homes that housed up to nine families. It was condemned as unsafe in 1932 and closed in 1933. A local campaign led by the headmaster Frederick Hill raised the money to buy it in 1937, and after wartime delays it opened to the public on 28 September 1955, helped by donations from the United States. It passed to the National Trust in 1956. Today the ground floor shows a 17th-century home with carved oak furniture and Delft ware, and a first-floor room recreates the tenement home of a local family.

Hoogtepunten

• Manor house linked to the ancestors of George Washington
• 17th-century rooms with carved oak furniture and a collection of Delft ware
• Recreated tenement room with an audio interview of a former resident
• Terraced garden with a parterre, a wildflower mead and a nut orchard
• Small play area and miniature apple orchard

Vaste collectie

• 17th-century rooms and tenement room – The ground floor presents a 17th-century home with carved oak furniture and Delft ware, while the first floor recreates the home of a family who lived in the hall until 1933.

Opgericht

1183

Beheerder

National Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices are for the hall and garden. Standard admission without Gift Aid is shown; with Gift Aid it is £7.70 for adults, £3.90 for children, £19.30 for a family of two adults and up to three children and £11.60 for one adult and up to three children. National Trust members enter free.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

There is a flight of stairs to the first floor of the hall, and the lower gardens, nut orchard and toilet block are reached by steps. Level access to these areas can be arranged by speaking to a team member on arrival. The accessible toilet is in the toilet block near the parterre, which is also reached by steps unless level access is arranged. Accessible parking on site must be booked by phone on 0191 416 6879. Seating is available in the hall and garden. A full access guide is published on AccessAble.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

There is a small play area with a wooden castle next to the miniature orchard. Family trails and craft or games sessions are held during school holidays; for example a free agility games session and a witch-themed trail are listed for the October half term 2026.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

From the A1 take junction 64 (A195), cross the Princess Anne Interchange roundabout, turn left at the Biddick Lane roundabout and follow the brown signs. National Cycle Network Route 7 passes about a mile from the hall.

Service & horeca

• Museumwinkel

A second-hand bookshop is on the first-floor landing of the hall when it is staffed. Toilets are near the parterre. Benches are placed around the gardens and visitors can picnic on the grass in the nut orchard.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

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