Matfen Hall
| Maften Hall Hotel and Country Club | |
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| General information | |
| Location | Matfen, Northumberland, England |
| Coordinates | 55°2′20″N 1°56′52″W / 55.03889°N 1.94778°W |
Matfen Hall is a 19th-century country mansion in Matfen, Northumberland, England, the seat of the Blackett baronets and now also a hotel and country golf club. It is a Grade II* listed building.
The manor of West Matfen was owned in the 13th century by Philip de Ulcote and passed through his sisters to Felton, by marriage to Hastings and later to Lawson. In 1625 the estate was bought by Lancelot Fenwick of a branch the old established local family of Fenwick Tower. The manor and manor house, West Matfen High Hall, was sold in 1680 to John Douglas. His granddaughter and Douglas heiress married Sir Edward Blackett, Bt., in 1757, thereby bringing the estate into the Blackett family.
The present house was built to replace the old manor, in 1828 for Sir Edward Blackett, 6th Baronet. The impressive Jacobean-style mansion has a three-storey seven-bay entrance front. An important internal feature is a full-height Gothic hall.
Between 1965 and 1994 the house was leased out, operating as The Northumberland Cheshire Home.[1]
Sir Hugh Blackett, the 12th Baronet, and Lady Blackett have since converted the hall into an hotel and country club, which opened in 1999. The Blacketts now live at Halton Castle a few miles west of Matfen.
References
- English Heritage: Images of England, photograph and architectural description
- History, Topography and Directory of Northumberland William Whellan (1855) p813 Google Books
Further reading
Kirtley, Allan, Longbottom, Patricia, Blackett, Martin, "A History of the Blacketts" (2013): The Blacketts ISBN 978-0-9575675-0-4
