Earlier Houses: The current house incorporates elements of the 17th century Harraton Hall. Harraton was probably rebuilt for John Hedworth in the early 18th century. A 1716 "Vitruvius Britannicus" plate indicates a plan for remodeling the house in the Palladian style; it seems unlikely that this design was carried out.

Built / Designed For: William Henry Lambton

House & Family History: William Henry Lambton commissioned Joseph Bonomi the Elder to build him a house in the style of a Norman castle. Incorporating parts of the existing 17th century Harraton Hall, the new house was built between 1796 and 1801 and may have been influenced in its design by Brancepeth Castle (see "Images" section). Bonomi's son, Ignatius Bonomi, enlarged and castellated Lambton Castle in the 1820s for John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham. Lambton was severely damaged by subsidence in 1854 (the foundations, built on old coal workings, began to give way). Over £35,000 was spent to fill the seams and to stabilize the foundations, a cost of approximately £26 million in inflation adjusted 2019 values using the labour value commodity index. In the 1850s and 1860s Lambton Castle was largely rebuilt at great expense (over £45,000), including the great hall, the port-cochère, and the reception rooms) to the designs of John Dobson and Sydney Smirke. In the 1930s the 19th century additions were largely demolished, some of the contents were sold to pay death duties, and the Lambton family moved their principal seat to nearby, smaller Biddick Hall. In 1966 Lambton Castle was leased to Durham County Council as a teacher training school; in the late 20th century the house was restored and reoccupied by the family. Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, better known as Ned Lambton, is a musician and guitarist for the band Pearl TN. His aunt was Freda Dudley Ward, the mistress of the Prince of Wales from 1918 to 1934 (before he began his famous/infamous relationship with Wallis Simpson). In 2014 the thrice-married 7th Earl was sued by three of his sisters, one of whom is the broadcaster Lucinda Lambton, for a share of their father's estate, from which the sisters had been excluded. Lord Durham reached an out-of-court settlement that gave approximately £1.5 million to each of his sisters. The settlement forced him to sell a provocative nude portrait of his late mother, "Head on a Green Sofa," by Lucian Freud. The artist painted the canvas between 1960 and 1961, when Lord Durham's mother was the artist's secret mistress. It sold at Sotheby's on February 12, 2014 for £2,994,500.

Garden & Outbuildings: The park is the site of an annual pheasant shoot. Between 1972 and 1980 the grounds were also home to Lambton Lion Park. Penshaw Monument, a Greek style memorial to the 1st Earl, is located on nearby Penshaw Hill, which was formerly part of the Lambton Estate.

John Bernard (J.B.) Burke, published under the title of A Visitation of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland, among other titles: 2.S. Vol. I, p. 140, 1854.

John Preston (J.P.) Neale, published under the title of Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, among other titles: Vol. I, 1818.

Country Life: CXXXIX, 664 [Photocopy], 726 plan, 1966.

House Listed: Grade II*

Park Listed: Grade II

Current Seat / Home of: Edward Richard Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham; Lambton family here since 1688.

Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HARRATON HALL: d'Arcy family, 17th century. John Hedworth, 18th century. SEATED AT LAMBTON CASTLE: William Henry Lambton, until 1797; John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, 1797-1840; George Frederick d'Arcy Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham, 1840-79; John George Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham, 1879-1928; Frederick William Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham, 1928-29; John Frederick Lambton, 5th Earl of Durham, 1929-70; Antony Claud Frederick Lambton, 6th Earl of Durham, 1970-2006.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

Ownership Details: Available for events

House Open to Public: Limited Access

Phone: 01913-852-435

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.lambtonpark.com/

Historic Houses Member: No