Gunnergate Hall

Gunnergate Hall
Map
General information
LocationMiddlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Completed1857
Demolished1946
ClientCharles Albert Leatham

Gunnergate Hall was a mansion house with grounds in the south of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.

History

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Gunnergate Hall was built in 1857 for Charles Albert Leatham, a wealthy Quaker banker.[1][2][3] Albert Leatham died in 1858 and in 1860 his widow sold Gunnergate Hall to ironmaster John Vaughan[4][5][6] who used it as his residence.[7] John Vaughan died in 1868 and his second son Thomas Vaughan inherited the hall and lived there.[1][5][6] Thomas Vaughan spent extensively improving the hall,[1] however his business failed and the hall was sold in 1881 to Carl Bolckow,[1][5][6] nephew of Henry Bolckow. Carl Bolckow sold the hall to mayor and shipbuilder Sir Raylton Dixon in 1888.[1][5][8] Sir Raylton Dixon died in 1901[1][2][5] and thereafter the hall was left unoccupied, and fell into disrepair.[1][8] The hall was used as an army base in both world wars[1][5][8] but was demolished in 1946 shortly after World War II,[1][3][4][5][8] and the land acquired by Middlesbrough Council.[2]


Description

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Gunnergate Hall was located off Tollesby Lane[4] and there is a plaque in the grounds that shows the former location of the hall.[8] The main entrance drive was from Stokesley Road in Marton.[5] Gunnergate Hall had three lodges but only two survive, Hunter’s Lodge on Gunnergate Lane and High Lodge on Tollesby Lane.[3][4]

The hall had a banqueting hall, ballroom and billiard room[6] and the grounds had a rockery, tennis courts, greenhouses, waterfall, lake, fountain, and boat house.[2][6] A water tower in the grounds may have supplied the lake fountain or else provided water pressure for the house.[9]

Fairy Dell Park
Fairy Dell
Map
TypeNature Reserve and Parkland
LocationMiddlesbrough
Coordinates54°31′34″N 1°12′40″W / 54.526°N 1.211°W / 54.526; -1.211
Operated byMiddlesbrough Council with The Friends of Fairy Dell
Statusopen all year round
AwardsGreen Flag Award
WebsiteFriends of Fairy Dell

Fairy Dell Park

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Fairy Dell is a local nature reserve,[10] and the former gardens and grounds of Gunnergate Hall.[2][11] Fairy Dell is a laid out parkland and natural wooded beck valley with an ornamental lake and flood defence lakes that is part of the Marton West Beck wildlife corridor.[12][13] The site was redeveloped as a flood defence in the late 1970s by Northumbrian Water and Middlesbrough Council.[12]

Access to the park can be gained from nearby Newham Grange Country Farm.[14] Wildlife to be found include watervoles, herons, kingfishers, moorhens, and mallards.[10][14] Numerous chainsaw sculptures have been created in the woodlands by Steve Iredale.[14] Activities undertaken by the Friends of Fairy Dell interest group include path clearing, strimming, and planting.[15] The park was given a Green Flag Award by the Civic Trust.[12]

Discoveries in the area have included animal bones and a sunken path. An archaeological dig is planned for 2014 led by Tees Archaeology.[16][17][18] A £38,000 grant has been obtained from the Community Spaces Programme of the Heritage Lottery Fund for improving footpaths and natural woodland, flower planting, extra seating and the archaeological dig.[16][17][19]

  • Entrance
    Entrance
  • Lake
    Lake
  • Snake sculpture
    Snake sculpture
  • Bridge over Marton West Beck
    Bridge over Marton West Beck

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Marton". Local History and Genealogy of the Teesside and North Riding Area. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Marton West Ward in Northumbria in Bloom - The Friends of Fairy Dell". Spanglefish.com. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Middlesbrough Council (23 March 2011). "Lodges: 84 Gunnergate Lane and 21 Tollesby Lane". Flickr. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d Wilson, Chris Scott. "Bolckow & Vaughan, Men of Steel, Part Three: Rewards of Labour". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Hughes, Betty (June 2000). "Gunnergate Hall revisited". Now and Then. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e "MacFarlane Clan & Families Genealogy: Thomas Vaughan, of Gunnergate Hall and Ugthorpe Lodge". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  7. ^ Wilson, Chris Scott. "Bolckow & Vaughan Men of Steel Part Two: The Boom Years". Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Fairy Dell, Gunnergate Hall, East of the Lake". Hidden Teesside. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  9. ^ Delplanque, Paul (24 January 2013). "The mysterious tower". Gazette Live - Remember When. Teesside: Evening Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Fairy Dell, Newham". Groundwork UK. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Health Walks Around Middlesbrough; Fairy Dell". 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  12. ^ a b c "Fairy Dell". Keep Britain Tidy. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  13. ^ "Friends of Fairy Dell". Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  14. ^ a b c "Discover Fairy Dell in Middlesbrough". Love Middlesbrough. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  15. ^ "Friends of Fairy Dell". Langdon Square Community Centre. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  16. ^ a b Nichols, Rob (28 October 2013). "Discover the delights of Heritage Lottery Fund Winners Fairy Dell Tomorrow". One Giant Leap. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Middlesbrough group to unearth sunken path's history". BBC News. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  18. ^ Barnes, Heath (31 July 2013). "Fairy Dell Middlesbrough Ancient Lake Deposits". History of a Beck. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  19. ^ "Fairy Dell Park is a place to sing about". Gazette Live. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
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