Crook Hall was a family home since the 1300s, and occupied over the centuries by several prominent families who stamped their mark on the property. Throughout time it has also been frequented by famous writers such as English poet William Wordsworth, and writer John Ruskin.
By 1979 the property was essentially derelict, but was taken on by Mary Hawgood, the former mayor of Durham, and her husband John, who rescued it from oblivion. I love ghost stories, especially when they’re attached to old English homes and Crook Hall is not without its own. In 1989, Mary awoke in the middle of the night convinced that she saw The White Lady of Crook Hall.
The Hawgoods moved on in 1995 (I don’t think the move was prompted by the ghost, but I wouldn’t blame them) when it was sold to Maggie and Keith Bell, and Crook Hall became a wedding venue, with the gardens open to the public on occasion.
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bell’s wedding business unfortunately collapsed, and in 2020 Crook Hall was put up for sale. It’s fate looked uncertain.
Thankfully, in stepped the National Trust and with the help of volunteers it reopened to the public in 2022.
