Walworth Castle

Walworth Castle stands on a gentle rise near Darlington in County Durham. Its oldest parts date from the 12th century, when the Hansard family built a manor on the site. The present Tudor structure was completed around 1600 by Thomas Jenison, Auditor General of Ireland. The castle passed through many families—Hansards, Ayscoughs, Aylmers and Jenisons—before becoming a prisoner-of-war camp in the Second World War. After the war it served as a girls’ boarding school until 1981, when it was restored as a hotel. The castle’s long history is visible in its architecture. The west tower still shows gunloops and small medieval windows. Inside, mid-18th-century plasterwork and Rococo details survive from a major renovation in 1740. The main staircase was rebuilt in 1864, and the west wing given a new front. In 2002 flagstones of unknown date were found in the cellar. The building is now Grade I listed and part of the Best Western group. Visitors walk through a courtyard enclosed on three sides by the castle and a 19th-century north range. The south parkland still bears traces of ridge-and-furrow fields from the lost North Farm settlement. Nearby stands the 1870 Tudor-style lodge and gate, built to match the castle’s battlemented style. A medal engraved with Thomas Jenison’s name was unearthed in 1938 beneath the north wall. The hotel now occupies the historic rooms, while the gardens to the north recall the market gardens once run from the estate.