Built / Designed For: John Errington

House & Family History: Carr of York's only known Northumberian works are Swarland Park and Chesters.

Collections: Silver, furniture, and other contents were sold on January 6, 1930.

Garden & Outbuildings: In 1796 Nathaniel Clayton purchased Chesters and had the Roman ruins on the Estate levelled to form a park between his mansion and the river. His son, the antiquarian John Clayton (1792-1890), did much to preserve the remains of Hadrian’s Wall and associated Roman ruins in this part of Northumberland. Beginning in 1834, as part of some of the first archaeological excavations on the wall, John Clayton began buying land to preserve and restore the wall, which had been used for centuries by locals as a ready source of stone. Clayton’s work continued into his 90s, when he uncovered the spectacular sculptures of the Temple to Mars Thincsus at Housesteads. Clayton, one of the most important figures in the 19th century archaeology of Hadrian’s Wall, established Chesters as an archaeological site open to visitors, where he converted a garden pavilion on the Estate to display his archaeological collection. The last major excavations at Chesters were carried out between 1890 and 1895 by Clayton’s nephew, Nathaniel George Clayton, who also built a museum (opened in 1896) to house the collection of antiquities discovered by his uncle at Chesters and elsewhere along the wall. The collection is today curated by English Heritage as part of Chesters Roman Fort. The Grade II*-listed Stables are extant.

Country Life: XXXI, 244 plan, 1912.

House Listed: Grade II*

Park Listed: Not Listed

Past Seat / Home of: John Errington, 1771-96. Nathaniel Clayton, 1796-1832; John Clayton, 1832-90.

Current Ownership Type: Individual / Family Trust

Primary Current Ownership Use: Private Home

House Open to Public: No

Historic Houses Member: No