DiCamillo Companion
England

Biddick Hall (Chester-le-Street)

Bournmoor, near Washington

Tyne & Wear

England

Historic County: County Durham

Circa Date: Early 18th century, incorporating earlier elements, w/19th & 20th century alterations and additions

Status: Fully Extant

House Open to Public: No

Country House: Yes

This house has been used for TV and Film

  • Earlier Houses: There was an earlier house on the site, parts of which were incorporated into the current house.

    House & Family History: Biddick Hall is a house of five bays by two stories. Built of red brick, this sweet house, whose design by have been influenced by Vanbrugh, features stone dressings and a center bay with a pediment and giant Ionic pilasters. 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.

  • Title: Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 1990
    Author: Kidd, Charles; Williamson, David (Editors)
    Year Published: 1990
    Publisher: London: Debrett's Peerage Limited (New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc.)
    ISBN: 0312046405
    Book Type: Hardback

    Title: Buildings of England: County Durham, The
    Author: Pevsner, Nikolaus
    Year Published: 1953 (originally softback)
    Publisher: London: Penguin Books
    ISBN: NA
    Book Type: Softback

  • House Listed: Grade I

    Park Listed: Not Listed

  • "Inspector George Gently" (2012 - TV series, episode 5.2, "Gently with Class," as Abberwick Hall). "The Paradise" (2012 - BBC TV series, using various interiors and exteriors). "Estranged" (2015).

  • Current Seat / Home of: Edward Richard Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham

    Past Seat / Home of: SEATED AT EARLIER HOUSE: Bowes family, 16th century. SEATED AT CURRENT HOUSE: Ralph Lambton, until 1717; Major-General John Lambton, 1717-94; William Henry Lambton, 1794-97; 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

  • House Open to Public: No

    Phone: 01913-851-736

    Historic Houses Member: No

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