Dame Margaret's Hall (Washington House)
Dame Margaret's Hall (Washington House)
HER Number
5667
District
Sunderland
Site Name
Dame Margaret's Hall (Washington House)
Place
Washington
Map Sheet
NZ35NW
Class
Domestic
Site Type: Broad
House
Site Type: Specific
Country House
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Extant Building
Description
Large house, 1854-7 by A.B. Higham of Newcastle for Isaac Lowthian Bell, Washington chemical manufacturer. Additions of 1865-7 by Philip Webb. Red brick; ashlar and terracotta quoins and dressings. Welsh slate roof. Tall brick chimneys. Free Tudor style. Complicated plan with long domestic wings. Two storeys and attics. Interior has some original fittings but has lost the Turkish bath installed by Webb. This was the birthplace of Gertrude Bell, explorer and Middle Eastern expert. In 1891 Bell donated the house for housing "waifs and strays". It subsequently became the residential Washington Hall School, then a nursing home, now apartments [2003]. Shown as Washington House on 1st edition Ordnance Survey map and Dame Margaret's Home on second and third editions. LISTED GRADE 2
Easting
431090
Northing
556360
Grid Reference
NZ431090556360
Sources
<< HER 5667 >> Dept. of National Heritage, of Buildings of Special ... Interest, Feb-75
The Archaeological Practice, 2001, Dame Margaret's Hall, Washington, Archaeological Assessment
The Archaeological Practice, 2002, Dame Margaret's Hall, Washington, Watching Brief Report
N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, 1985, The Buildings of England: County Durham, p 488
Whelan, 1894, p 1170; City of Sunderland, 2009, Washington Village Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy
The Archaeological Practice, 2001, Dame Margaret's Hall, Washington, Archaeological Assessment
The Archaeological Practice, 2002, Dame Margaret's Hall, Washington, Watching Brief Report
N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, 1985, The Buildings of England: County Durham, p 488
Whelan, 1894, p 1170; City of Sunderland, 2009, Washington Village Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy