The Pant (Water supply) and the Village Green, West Auckland
On Thursday 4th September the group met at the Pant on West Auckland village green to be led on a walk around the village by Martin Roberts. Martin is a local architectural historian who recently was responsible for the revision of the County Durham Edition of Pevsner's 'Buildings of England' and is a leading authority on all things architectural in North East England. It so happens that he is a long time resident of West Auckland. we could not have been in better hands.
The 'Old Hall' Martin talking to the Group
We started at the ‘Old Hall’, Martin explained that the building is certainly old but started life in 1621 as a ‘Hearth Passage’ farmhouse; this was a building form, probably derived from earlier Norse longhouses, where a cross passage running behind the hearth, divides the building into two with animals on one side of the passage and humans on the other. Martin demonstrated that, like all similar buildings, the original house was first extended by moving the animals out into a byer and taking over the space for humans, then later extending upwards by building a first floor accessed by a staircase in a rear extension. He demonstrated how these changes can be seen in the subtle changes in materials and the addition of new door openings, he also discussed how buildings can often be dated by the style and materials of the staircases they contain.
Two Houses on the East Green The Manor House now a Hotel The Original Entrance to the Manor House
Our walk continued looking at many buildings in similar detail and we learned amongst many other things:- at one stage West Auckland had 19 pubs and it had its own brewery, now gone but evidenced by a row of cottages built for the brewery workers. we also learned that there used to be a group of buildings, probably including a smithy, in the centre of the green much like the similar group which still exists in Staindrop.
West Auckland also had its share of shady characters; we also were told about the infamous serial killer Mary Cotton and shown the house where her murderous career came to its end. Cotton was not the only person with criminal tendencies who lived in the village; Jonathan Martin, who lived for a time in a house on the east green was an arsonist who set fire to York Minster in 1829 doing considerable damage. We concluded our tour in the Manor House, the original 'Old Hall' to see the fine decorative ceilings installed by a well known family of Durham plasterers whose work can be seen in many other historic prestigious houses. We concluded with some welcome refreshment, and a reflection on the wealth of knowledge Martin was able to convey in only a couple of hours.
The Staircase at the Manor House The Ornate Ceiling in the Manor house Dining Room The House where Mary Cotton was Apprehended