Gibside Hall Estate and Gardens, Gateshead
18th Century Landscaping and Wonderful Views Over the Derwent Valley
Apr 29, 2009
The Gibside Estate was originally owned by the Blakiston family, Sir William Blakiston having built Gibside Hall in 1620. The estate was acquired, through marriage, by George Bowes, who instigated further building and re-designing of the landscape. Coal was mined on the estate, with the result that George Bowes, by controlling its price through a cartel, became very wealthy.
His daughter, Mary Eleanor, married John Lyon, ninth Earl of Strathmore, and the subsequent Bowes-Lyon family became ancestors of the British Royal Family. The Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, visited Gibside as a child, and dined on its lawns, but did not live here.
The estate is entered by an uphill, wooded drive from the Rowlands Gill - Burnopfield road, five miles west of Gateshead. A former walled garden acts as a car park, though there are plans to return this to its floral glory. This opens onto a broad lawn, watched over by Gibside Chapel.
Palladian Architecture of Gibside Chapel
The chapel was commenced by George Bowes in 1759, and completed in 1816, by his grandson, John Lyon, tenth Earl of Strathmore. It was designed by James Paine in the Palladian style, after Italian architect, Andrea Palladio (1508-80), who drew inspiration from the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.
The chapel, which was re-opened by the Queen Mother in 1966, is used for services on the first Sunday of each month, and is available for weddings and concerts. Beneath its floors is a mausoleum containing the remains of George Bowes, John Lyon and other family members. A three-tiered pulpit stands behind the cherry wood altar.
'Long Walk' and the Gibside Statue of Liberty
The chapel door looks onto the tree-lined ‘Long Walk’, an avenue at the far end of which is a 140-feet-tall column, rising high above the woods and visible for several miles around the estate. It stands taller than Nelson’s Column in London and is crowned by a statue of Liberty, which predates its New York namesake by a century.
Gibside Hall and Orangery
Half way along and to the north of the avenue is the Orangery, built by Mary Eleanor Bowes-Lyon in 1774. Though this is now a ruin, it still commands a superb view over a loop of the River Derwent. A little farther is Gibside Hall itself, which once had 70 rooms, adorned with 324 paintings, but is now also a ruin. Full restoration would be prohibitively expensive, but the National Trust, which owns the estate, is renovating it to the point where its interior can once again be viewed by the public.
Stable Block and Banqueting House
A short distance east of the Hall is the fully restored stable block which, in addition to a small café, houses exhibitions and a display illustrating the history of Gibside. Beyond this, a rise hides the Octagon Pond, which itself lies at the foot of a further slope leading to the Banqueting House. This is owned by the Landmark Trust, and let as a holiday cottage.
Wildlife on Gibside Estate
Throughout the estate are numerous footpaths, which lead around the boundary and through the woods. Parts of the estate make up a Site of Special Scientific Interest, containing flowers and semi-natural woodland, consisting of oaks, yew and holly, augmented by tall redwoods. In the ponds are great-crested newts, while elsewhere there are grass snakes, red squirrels, badgers, foxes and roe deer.
Swallows nest in the stables, while birds-of-prey include sparrow hawks, kestrels and tawny owls. The recent, and very successful re-introduction of red kites into the Derwent Valley means that these magnificent birds are also a frequent sight over Gibside.
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