A HISTORY OF BEAMISH HALL

Beamish Hall was originally built as a wedding present in 1268 for Guiscard de Charron. Five generations of Charron / Monbouchers occupied the Hall, the last family member dying in 1400.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Hall was occupied by various local aristocrats, including the famous Percy family (the Dukes of Northumberland).

Thomas Wray, a colonel in the service of Charles 1 lost ownership of the Hall in 1651, after the Battle of Worcester. The Estate was placed under Parliamentary Trustees for sale. George Wray, brother of Thomas, bought it back and in 1671, his son Thomas sold it to Major William Christian of Unerigg, Cumberland.

In 1682 Major Christian sold the Estate to Timothy Davison of Newcastle. He was a Governor of the Merchants Company of Newcastle. His son William Davison lived at the Hall and with his second wife, Dulcibella, had two sons and three daughters. The youngest daughter, Mary, married Sir Robert Eden in 1739. The Estate then stayed in the Eden family until 1904 when, following the death of Mr Slingsby Eden, it passed to Captain Slingsby Duncombe Shafto.

He was succeeded by Mr Robert Shafto, who died in 1949, leaving the estate to his heir Robert. Unfortunately, death duties of £120,000 compelled the squire tb dispose of the Estate. Mr RD Shafto left Beamish and moved to the family's original home at Little Bavington Hall, Northumberland.

In 1954 Beamish Hall was leased to the Coal Board who used it as a regional Head Office. In 1966 Durham County Council bought the Hall and sub-let part of the building to Beamish Museum to house archives. After being declared surplus to the council's needs, the Hall stood empty until August 2000.

Beamish Hall is now largely restored it to its original splendour and the current owner, Mr David Craggs, has acknowledged the links to the Shafto family by fitting a wool carpet bearing the Shafto family crest, and placing a large-scale model of Bobby Shafto's ship above the entrance to the Shafto Hall.

Beamish Hall has it's own ghosts, the Grey Lady being the most famous. Legend has it that the Grey Lady was in love with Mr Shafto, but was promised to another by her father. On her wedding day, she ran to Beamish Hall to escape from her appointed suitor, hid in a casket and suffocated, not being found for some months. Her restless spirit wanders the hall today, her wedding dress rustling as she moves.

Located in 24 acres of parkland on the Beamish Hall estate, you'll find the recently established Stables Brewery. Separated from the friendly pub simply by a glass wall, if you are there at the right time you might see brewer John Taylor (pictured above on the right) with his colleague Ray Bailey, a former manager at the Federation Brewery,in action – checking the malt, throwing in the hops… and tasting the new beer. Well someone has to! Local entrepreneur David Craggs has spent £7m transforming the historic Beamish Hall into a gracious country house hotel since buying it in 2004. When local brewer John suggested David needed a brewery to complete the picture, David agreed, but on one condition – John ran it. From his bestselling Beamish Hall Bitter in the traditional Yorkshire style to the golden Bobby Dazzler, John's ales are diverse and food-friendly. Stuart Guthrie and his team at the bar can guide you through a taste of all eight, and if John's not busy you may get a chance to peak into the brewery itself.

The Continental beer bar opened in The Stables Courtyard Saturday 30th July 2011 with 8 Draught Beers from around the world

The Stable is a genuinely relaxing environment. Stone floors, old beams, solid furniture, crackling log fires in winter, fabulous courtyard to lounge in for summer fresco dining. The service is everything you would expect... friendly, efficient and very knowledgeable. The wine list tries to bring old world and new world together with a emphasis on quality. As for the food you are in for a right treat, ingredients sourced from local farmers and producers wherever possible all lovingly brought together to form dishes that are both traditional favourites with a contemporary twist and modern classics

As local historians we visit hundreds of sites across the Region and of course have visited hundreds of Restaurants and Bars. Without doubt we have the best on our doorstop at Beamish.

The Stables Staff are always most welcoming and friendly, 'service with a smile' certainly applies to the above ladies, photograph on the left Kamila, on the right Marie & Elena.

The food is excellent with prompt service and staff always on hand, making sure that customers every need is attended to.

We highly recommend it's outstanding quality.

We are completing a DVD history of Tommy Armstrong a local hero. The Stables Brewery produced an excellent beer as a tribute to Tommy. We highly recommend it.

These product labels demonstrate the first class range of produce available to the customer. Although the brewhouse is small John Taylor must be congratulated on his skill and ingenuity.