Beaurepaire Manor House

BEARPARK BEARPARK COLLIERY ROAD NZ 24 SW (North end, off) 5/6 Beaurepaire Manor House. 28/2/52 (Formerly listed as Bear Park remains, in Witton Gilbert C.P.)

GV II

Ruins of manor house of Prior of Durham. C13-C16. Sandstone rubble with quoins and ashlar dressings. No roof survives. E-plan. 5 ranges round 2 courtyards open to west, sloping down from top of north bank of River Browney. Highest surviving wall c.4 metres; most c.1-2 metres high. C13 north-south hall with cross wings and west extensions; fragments of further C13 building to north overlaid by C14 cross wing added to earlier C14 north-south room. Architectural features include small chamfered rectangular window on east elevation, several fragments of stairs, and drains. After the Dissolution the buildings became the property of the Dean of Durham and their subsequent use is not clear, although principally agricultural. In 1640 and 1644 most of the buildings were demolished by the Scottish army. Sources: Universities of Durham and Newcastle Archaeological Reports for 1980, pp. 94-7; for 1981, 59-61; for 1982, 71-4; for 1983, 81-4. C.B.A.3 Newsbulletin 2nd. series, No. 21 (December 1983) and n.d. (April 1985), all by P.A.G. Clack.

Listing NGR: NZ2430843906