Eggleston Hall country house near Barnard Castle goes for sale

Dating in parts from 1827 and built by the renowned local architect Ignatius Bonomi it has a front façade that is symmetrical in style and two large wings adjoining a handsome Georgian core of four elegant sandstone columns.

Once a girls' finishing school and a convalescing home for officers during the Second World War, this magnificent property is now a family home, parts of which are open to the public for hire for celebrations or corporate events.

Eggleston Hall has been in the Gray family for over 100 years, dating back to 1920 when it was purchased by the family’s great grandfather. This is the first time the property has come to the market in that time.

Offering 22,000sq.ft of accommodation in the main house and attached wings, there is huge potential to divide the house into separate dwellings or further redevelop it into a hotel or events venue, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents.

The house itself boasts exquisite Georgian architecture, including high ceilings, large sash windows, original fireplaces, elegant ornate mouldings and cornicing and a grand staircase at the centre of the property.

The 36ft reception hall with a grand fireplace offers visitors an impressive welcome into the house and a glimpse of what lies within.

This opens into the ground floor reception rooms, most of which are south/west facing and provide superb space in which to entertain. The drawing room is particularly striking with an open fireplace, intricate cornicing and floor-to-ceiling windows. Also on the ground floor are a cosy sitting room, glass garden room, billiard room with built-in shelving and original floors and the light and bright main kitchen/breakfast room with an original fireplace and AGA.

The first floor upper and lower levels of the main house offer a principal bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, three further bedrooms with en-suite facilities, (one with a separate dressing area), five further bedrooms and three individual bathrooms/shower rooms.

A beautiful galleried landing overlooks the panelled inner hall and three sets of staircases in the house offer flexible accommodation and a good sense of flow throughout.There is also a single cellar and separate impressive eight-room stone cellar with arched ceilings.

The West Wing annex offers a large kitchen with pantry, secondary kitchen, four reception rooms, five bedrooms (one with en-suite bathroom), a family bathroom and numerous store rooms plus a separate wood store.

The North Wing annex comprises six rooms which offers an opportunity for a buyer to put their own stamp on the property. This could be incorporated into the main house or developed into a further separate annex, ideal for a dependant relative or use as holiday accommodation. The first floor also offers a sitting room, four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a store and WC.

Four acres of beautiful mature gardens surround Eggleston Hall and incorporate the historic 17th-century ruins of Eggleston Chapel, which now remains as a garden feature. The ruins have been planted with rare and unusual species of plants, protected by the shelter of the ruined walls.

Further accommodation includes Garden Cottage, which could be used as holiday accommodation or for guests, and which comprises a kitchen, two reception rooms, a bathroom, three bedrooms and a shower room, and Low Lodge, which is located at the entrance to the estate and offers a sitting room and conservatory, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

The house is set in beautiful gardens and grounds which include rolling lawns and meadows and stunning river views of the River Tees.

A private driveway approaches the house and leads to a central courtyard area providing ample parking. There are also beautifully landscaped and maintained walled gardens.

The gardens include colourful planted borders, shrubs and hedgerows, paved pathways, lawns, water features and Victorian glasshouses currently operating as a commercial garden centre.

The Coach House café and shop forms part of the a wider garden centre business, providing office space above and a significant income stream. The ground floor is split into a gift shop, café shop, kitchen with store and two cloakrooms. The office space above is split into four offices with a utility and two cloakrooms. The Coach House offers a wider potential to be converted, subject to the necessary planning permission, into further accommodation.

There are approximately 103 acres of grassland and mature woodland, known as The Great Wood, along with two stables and a tack room, an outdoor grass floodlit arena and useful timber clad outbuildings.

Oliver Custance Baker, Head of Strutt & Parker’s National Country House Department, says: “On the market for the first time in over 100 years, the sale of Eggleston Hall really does offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to own this magnificent country house.

"The property has a rich history, but it has been successfully brought into the modern day by the Gray family with the introduction of various businesses. This innovation provides the next custodians with the opportunity to take on and continue these established and profitable businesses should they wish – along with the chance to develop them further if desired.

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“With the North Pennines just beyond the estate, it’s a wonderfully rural spot, while not being too far from several larger villages and towns.”

Eggleston Hall is on the market at a guide price of £6m.

For more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact Oliver Custance Baker on 020 7591 2207 or James Wort on 01423 706771.