After an apparent error by Historic England led to the delisting of Carham Hall the The Victorian Society has successfully secured its relisting to end demolition plans. We are very grateful for the help of Matthew Wood who also submitted his own listing application and provided research to support ours.
Plans were lodged with Northumberland County Council to demolish the house in September 2021. Following the The Victorian Society’s listing application Historic England noted that it ‘cannot find any rationale’ for the building being de-listed in 1988 and presume an error.
The neo-Tudor Victorian country house has now been restored to Grade II listed status. Dating back to a 13th century tower house, Carham Hall was largely rebuilt in 1870.
Joe O’Donnell, Director of the The Victorian Society says ‘We are delighted that Carham Hall has been recognised as a high-quality building that deserves much better than demolition. Demolition and rebuilding would be a huge waste of embodied energy. In a climate emergency we must stop treating buildings as throwaway. Northumberland county council should work with the owners to ensure that the hall is adapted for re-use rather than just left empty and deteriorating so that demolition can be pushed for again in the future’.
The house is an excellent example of Mid-Victorian architecture. In the list description, Historic England describe Carham Hall as ‘a good example of an evolved English country house, whose location, scale and quality reflects its association with several prominent local families; its well-executed Tudor Revival design is enlivened by pointed and shaped gables, mullioned windows and multiple tall chimney stacks, which combine to produce a handsome principal elevation’. A west wing was added in the 1920s by the significant Scottish architect James Bow Dunn.
04/05/2021
