| Gunnergate Hall | |
| Client: | Charles Albert Leatham |
| Location: | Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Completion Date: | 1857 |
| Demolition Date: | 1946 |
Gunnergate Hall was a mansion house with grounds in the south of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England.
Gunnergate Hall was built in 1857 for Charles Albert Leatham, a wealthy Quaker banker.[1] [2] [3] Albert Leatham died in 1858 and in 1860 his widow sold Gunnergate Hall to ironmaster John Vaughan[4] [5] [6] who used it as his residence.[7] John Vaughan died in 1868 and his second son Thomas Vaughan inherited the hall and lived there.[1] [5] [6] Thomas Vaughan spent extensively improving the hall,[1] however his business failed and the hall was sold in 1881 to Carl Bolckow,[1] [5] [6] nephew of Henry Bolckow.Carl Bolckow sold the hall to mayor and shipbuilder Sir Raylton Dixon in 1888.[1] [5] [8] Sir Raylton Dixon died in 1901[1] [2] [5] and thereafter the hall was left unoccupied, and fell into disrepair.[1] [8] The hall was used as an army base in both world wars[1] [5] [8] but was demolished in 1946 shortly after World War II,[1] [3] [4] [5] [8] and the land acquired by Middlesbrough Council.[2]
Gunnergate Hall was located off Tollesby Lane[4] and there is a plaque in the grounds that shows the former location of the hall.[8] The main entrance drive was from Stokesley Road in Marton.[5] Gunnergate Hall had three lodges but only two survive, Hunter’s Lodge on Gunnergate Lane and High Lodge on Tollesby Lane.[3] [4]
The hall had a banqueting hall, ballroom and billiard room[6] and the grounds had a rockery, tennis courts, greenhouses, waterfall, lake, fountain, and boat house.[2] [6] A water tower in the grounds may have supplied the lake fountain or else provided water pressure for the house.[9]
| Fairy Dell Park | |
| Alt Name: | Fairy Dell |
| Photo Width: | 240 |
| Type: | Nature Reserve and Parkland |
| Location: | Middlesbrough |
| Operator: | Middlesbrough Council with The Friends of Fairy Dell |
| Awards: | Green Flag Award |
| Status: | open all year round |
| Website: | Friends of Fairy Dell |
Fairy Dell is a local nature reserve,[10] and the former gardens and grounds of Gunnergate Hall.[2] [11] Fairy Dell is a laid out parkland and natural wooded beck valley with an ornamental lake and flood defence lakes that is part of the Marton West Beck wildlife corridor.[12] [13] The site was redeveloped as a flood defence in the late 1970s by Northumbrian Water and Middlesbrough Council.[12]
Access to the park can be gained from nearby Newham Grange Country Farm.Wildlife to be found include watervoles, herons, kingfishers, moorhens, and mallards.[10] [14] Numerous chainsaw sculptures have been created in the woodlands by Steve Iredale.[14] Activities undertaken by the Friends of Fairy Dell interest group include path clearing, strimming, and planting.[15] The park was given a Green Flag Award by the Civic Trust.[12]
Discoveries in the area have included animal bones and a sunken path.An archaeological dig is planned for 2014 led by Tees Archaeology.[16] [17] [18] A £38,000 grant has been obtained from the Community Spaces Programme of the Heritage Lottery Fund for improving footpaths and natural woodland, flower planting, extra seating and the archaeological dig.[16] [17] [19]