Burnhopeside Hall, a Grade II star-listed Georgian estate in County Durham, has opened as a luxury self-catering retreat after a nine-month restoration led by the family that owns it. The estate, near Lanchester, now offers holiday lets, weddings, events and corporate stays.
Historic estate restored
The Grade II star-listed house and 15-acre formal grounds sit within a 450-acre estate. The restoration focused on returning the property to its former character rather than modernising it.
The cottage at Burnhopeside Hall was built in 1745, with the main Hall dating from the early 1800s. The walled garden dates from 1893. The estate has a strong connection to the North East railway age: railway engineer William Hedley, whose early locomotive work launched the railway age, died at the Hall in 1843. Original lengths of railway track used during his locomotive testing remain on the estate, incorporated into the farmhouse and grounds.
Family custodianship
The Hall was held by the Hedley family for around 150 years before passing into the current family in the mid-20th century, when it was bought by the maternal grandfather of brothers Andy and James Hewitt. Their mother Christine restored the property and ran it as a bed and breakfast from 2015 until her death in 2025.
Andy, his wife Helen and his brother James have spent the past nine months bringing the estate back into commercial use. Burnhopeside Hall operates primarily as a luxury, self-catering country-house rental, allowing guests to take the estate as a whole or book the Hall and Cottage separately. The Hall sleeps up to 12(+4) guests across six rooms, while The Cottage sleeps four.
Future plans
The family says it is aiming for premium leisure stays, complemented by a programme of retreats, private events and corporate bookings. The team is also developing strategic uses for the land, including enclosed dog walking paddocks and business office domes for rent.
Helen said the family has focused on restoring and highlighting distinctive features, including Victorian engineering details such as cast-iron underground heating pipes, remnants of the original Victorian boiler house and greenhouse, and a family-built greenhouse wall constructed by the brothers when they were boys.
She said: “We wanted to bring the estate back to life in a way that felt true to its history. Restoring rather than modernising, in Christine’s spirit. We feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to turn a historic family home into a commercially sustainable modern estate business, without losing the qualities that made the property worth preserving in the first place. It really is a special place and it’s uses are endless from holidays to retreats to private business events. We are raring to go and looking forward to the next challenge!”
