BISHOP OAKWolsingham, County Durham

BISHOP OAKLEAZES LANE, WOLSINGHAM, COUNTY DURHAM, DL13 3LS

Wolsingham 1.3 miles, Newcastle 23 miles, Durham 14 miles

A HANDSOME, EARLY 18TH CENTURY GRADE II LISTED COUNTRY

HOUSE IN A PEACEFUL VALLEY OVERLOOKING WEARDALE

Bishop Oak HouseEntrance Porch • Reception Hall • Cloakroom Drawing Room • Library

Dining Room • Kitchen • Seven Bedrooms and Two Bathrooms • Attic Store

Outbuildings with engine room, laundry and coal sheds • Garaging

South facing gardens, enchanting summer house and dovecote, amenity woodland and grazing land

About 27.78 acres (11.24 ha)

Bishop Oak CottageSitting room, kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms and bathroom.

Large garden • Former kitchen garden and orchard

Garage, stable and workshop

About 0.75 acres (0.30 ha)

For sale as a whole or in two lots

5 & 6 Bailey Court, Colburn Business Park, North Yorkshire, DL9 4QLTel : 01748 897610

www.gscgrays.co.ukjarc@gscgrays.co.uk

Off ices also at :

Alnwick Tel : 01665 568310

Barnard CastleTel : 01833 637000

Chester-le-StreetTel : 0191 303 9540

EasingwoldTel : 01347 837100

Hamsterley Tel : 01388 487000

Lambton EstateTel : 0191 385 2435

Leyburn Tel : 01969 600120

StokesleyTel : 01642 710742

Situation Bishop Oak is situated in a pretty valley between Wolsingham Park Moor and Wolsingham North Moor, about 1.5 miles north of Wolsingham with lovely views over Weardale in North West Durham.

Wolsingham is the nearest market town and one of the oldest in County Durham dating back to Saxon times. It sits on the confluence of the River Wear and the Waskerley Beck which runs through the lands of Bishop Oak. The town retains much of its historic heritage whilst providing a wide range of local shops and services including grocers, butchers, various pubs and restaurants, doctors’ surgery, post office, bank and local garage. There is both a primary and secondary school.

Wolsingham is a popular visitor location with great access to Weardale and drawn throughout the year by the heritage Weardale Railway and the annual agricultural show.

Bishop Auckland is about 12 miles away and provides a wider range of services and supermarkets and the historic Cathedral city of Durham is comfortably within half an hour’s drive offering many wonderful amenities and a principal station of the main East Coast rail line linking to London in under three hours. Newcastle is about 23 miles north which has an international airport.

Historical NotesAccording to the architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner, Bishop Oak is ‘tall, with an absolutely symmetrical front over three storeys and four bays, probably completed in the early 18th century.’ It has since been altered and extended in both the 19th and 20th centuries but much of the original detail remains including pilastered panelling in the main rooms and oak parquet flooring.

The tall summerhouse is contemporary to the house and has a pyramid roof and finial, steps to the panelled first-floor room and a large opening at the back to the garden room.

Bishop Oak HouseBishop Oak is a handsome, Grade II Listed, country house set within spacious gardens and grounds with lovely open views over the Durham countryside. It is a classic early 18th century design although unusually it extends over three floors with a symmetrical front of thin courses of squared sandstone with ashlar dressings and quoins and four bays with windows in groups of two. The original front of the house was extended in the late 1800s and early 1900s with additional alterations some 25 years later. Internally there is much to admire of the original house with a wide segmental-arched fireplace, stop-chamfered beams and stucco cornice. The hall and two main reception rooms are either wholly or partially panelled and flooring is oak parquet. On the first floor there is a painted wood chimneypiece with enriched lugged architrave, pulvinated frieze with central Aurora panel, egg-and-dart-moulded cornice, and side droplets.

The rear extension has fewer architectural features but encompasses the dining room and kitchen as well as a boiler room accessed from outside and a back staircase leading to the main bedroom suite.

Bishop Oak is now in need of refurbishment throughout.

OutsideThe extension has created a courtyard at the back of the house framed with outbuildings which once provided the laundry, engine house and fuel stores. There is also a more modern timber garage.

Gardens & GroundsThe house is approached through an in out drive sheltered from the lane by a high hedge and softened by a deep shrub border and mature trees and with a gravelled sweep to the side porch entrance. The main garden is to the south of the house and has a simple layout a narrow stone terrace, rose beds and a terraced lawn.

The main feature of the garden is an enchanting summerhouse/dovecote built at the same time as the house with incised

stucco with ashlar quoins and dressings under a pyramidal slate covered roof. It has a garden store on the ground floor, stairs to a partially panelled gazebo and hidden ladder to the dovecote above. The building is guarded by an equally impressive weeping ash tree. Together with the original outside privy they are both also Grade II listed.

To the north and east of the house is a bank of mature woodland which slopes away from the house down to the Waskerley Beck which cuts through the grazing land in front of the house. The land extends to about 11.38 acres and is fenced for livestock.

Bishop Oak CottageBishop Oak Cottage lies on the opposite side of the lane from the main house. It is a little later in date but built of local stone beneath a slate roof and was originally designed to house staff on the estate. It is set within a large area of garden, mainly down to lawn and is screened from the road by shrubs and mature trees.

The accommodation is laid out on a single floor and includes a sitting room, kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

The property includes the garaging and stable for Bishop Oak as well as the former kitchen garden and orchard which is now somewhat overgrown.

DesignationsBishop Oak, the summerhouse and privy are List Grade II.

The wood at Bishop Oak is a designated Priority Habitat of Deciduous Woodland and adjacent to it is the Backstone Bank and Boal Hill Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Services

Property Electricity Water Drainage

Bishop Oak House Mains Mains Private

Bishop Oak Cottage Mains Mains Private

Fixtures & FittingsOnly those mentioned in these sales particulars are included in the sale.

ViewingsStrictly by appointment through the Selling Agents, GSC Grays. Tel: 01748 897610.

Directions From Wolsingham turn north by the High School onto Leazes Lane towards the Tunstall Reservoir. Continue on the lane for about 1.5 miles and the entrance to Bishop Oak House is on the right through a gate flanked by a high hedge. The cottage is immediately opposite on the other side of the road.

Rights Of Way & WayleavesBishop Oak is to be sold subject to and with the benefit of all existing rights including rights of way, whether public or private, light, drainage, water and electricity supplies, and all other rights, obligations, easements or covenants whether disclosed or not. A public footpath cuts through the grazing field at the southern end and continues north between Waskerley Beck and the adjacent woodland.

Sporting RightsThe sporting rights are owned by a third party.

Mineral RightsMineral rights are excluded from the title.

Local AuthorityDurham County Council Tel: 0300 026 0000

Council TaxCouncil Tax Banding: Bishop Oak House – Band G Bishop Oak Cottage – not registered

Energy PerformanceBishop Oak House – F (25) Bishop Oak Cottage – E (39)

This Plan is based upon the Ordnance Survey Map with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. Crown Copyright reserved. (100043767). This Plan is published for the convenience of Purchasers only. Its accuracy is not guaranteed and it is expressly excluded from any contract. NOT TO SCALE.

This Plan is based upon the Ordnance Survey Map with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. Crown Copyright reserved. (100043767). This Plan is published for the convenience of Purchasers only. Its accuracy is not guaranteed and it is expressly excluded from any contract. NOT TO SCALE.

DISCLAIMER NOTICE: PLEASE READ: GSC Grays gives notice to anyone who may read these particulars as follows:1. These particulars, including any plan, are a general guide only and do not form any part of any offer or contract.2. All descriptions, including photographs, dimensions and other details are given in good faith but do not amount to our presentation or warranty. This should not be relied upon as statements of facts and

anyone interested must satisfy themselves as to their corrections by inspection or otherwise.3. Neither GSC Grays nor the vendors accept responsibility for any error that these particulars may contain however caused.4. Any plan is for guidance once only and is not drawn to scale. All dimensions, shapes, and compass bearings are approximate and you should not rely on them without checking them first.5. Nothing in these particulars shall be deemed to be a statement that the property is in good condition, repair or otherwise nor that any services or facilities are in good working order.6. Please discuss with us any aspects that are important to you prior to travelling to the property.

Particulars written: August 2020Photographs taken: July 2010

www.gscgrays.co.uk