PICTURES: 10 mansions that once stood proud in County Durham

It has been compiled by Jim Davidson as a follow-up to his first book about lost Northumberland mansions. Jim has a collection of more than 20,000 postcards, some of which are used to illustrate the book. In many instances, it is only these postcard views that survive to tell us what these grand country houses looked like.

What a remarkable building Branksome Hall, on the edge of Cockerton, must have been. Its oldest section was on the right and was a mansion called Westfield. In the 1880s, it had a remarkable Elizabethan style west wing added, probably by the Kitching family, who lived there until 1948. It then became a warehouse and was demolished in 1978. Sheltered accommodation near Mount Pleasant School is now on its site

Jim became interested in the subject when studying his home village of Dunston-upon-Tyne at the northern edge of Durham. It once had several country estates, but as industry flourished, their parkland was built on which meant the hall became a less desireable place to live. An alternative use was therefore sought for the hall which caused it to decay further - especially if the army took it over during a war - and so its demolition became inevitable.

Here is just a selection of Jim's lost halls. Each property has a fascinating story, as Jim's notes in the book show. If you can add to any of those stories, please let us know.

Fishburn Hall was to the east of the crossroads in Fishburn, where Greenside Close is today. When it was up for sale in 1873, its estate included 665 acres of farmland and the Beehive and Horse Shoe Inns. It became a private boys' school and then an agricultural store before it was demolished in 1953

Haughton Hall was an 18th Century property opposite St Andrew's Church. It looked quite ordinary from the street, but the rear was composed of various wings and included a castellated two storey bow window, which looked down towards the Skerne. The hall was replaced by housing in 1981

This is Newton Hall, after which a huge housing estate on the edge of Durham is named. It was a stately residence, dating to the 18th Century, if not earlier, and was built for the Liddells of Ravensworth. Later it became home to the Russells of Brancepeth. Towards the end of the 19th Century, it became the county lunatic asylum, and during the First World War it housed soldiers. Army occupation was the death knell for many country homes, and Newton Hall was no exception. Derelict, it was demolished in 1926

County Durham's Lost Houses: A picture postcard history by Jim Davidson (Wagtail Press, £19.50) and is available from the Hexham publisher's website, wagtailpress.uk

This is Valley House in High Coniscliffe, just to the east of the church. It was a comfortable but ordinary home, built in an old quarry, until Sunderland steamship owner James Westoll extended it hugely in 1919 and renamed it Coniscliffe Hall. During the Second World War, it was used as an army barracks. It was ravaged by fire and fell down, although in the last decade, a new house beside its enigmatic coach house has been built in the quarry

Landieu was an extremely comfortable family home at Hartburn, on the edge of Stockton. Matthias Robinson opened his first department store in Stockton in 1896, had a second store in Leeds, and thoughtfully arranged his family on the tennis court at Landieu when the photographer came. Debenhams acquired his stores in 1962 and Landieu - where does that name come from? - was demolished in the 1970s

Langton Grange was a spectacular property belonging to the Raby estate. It was west of the hamlet of Langton and south of the village of Ingleton, and now seems to have vanished

Even when this photo was taken in 1911, Snotterton Hall was gone. An ancient place to the west of Staindrop, it was demolished in 1831 and Snotterton Hall Farm, which is shown on the postcard, replaced it. Was the farm the service wing of the old hall, or was it built from the old hall's stone?

There was great interest recently in the open gardens at Southlands, the first slag concrete house on Teesside which was the home of Sir Samuel Sadler, the founder of Teesside's chemical industry (Memories 580). People who visited the gardens in The Avenue, Eaglescliffe, were directed to park in the nearby grounds of Teesside High School. The school is on the site of this mansion, Woodside Hall, the home of successful Victorian industrialists and entrepreneurs who had splendid views over the Tees. The hall was demolished in 1935, although its grand arched entrance appears to survive in the school grounds.

A fabulous picture of Blackwell Hill, a mansion built to the south of Darlington with fabulous views over the River Tees. It was built in 1873 by local architect John Ross for Eliza Barclay, who was a member of the town's Quaker Backhouse family. Poor Eliza, who married into the nationally famous banking family, had a great fortune but profound sadness: her mother died giving birth to her, her husband died a few months after marrying her, her brother died an untimely death and so she devoted herself to bringing up his young son only for him to die on the cusp of greatness.
Blackwell Hill may have been built as an orphanage or as a school for working-class children to learn to be servants and so escape poverty. 
In 1944 it became the home of John Neasham, motor dealer and director of Darlington Football Club. In 1972, it was sold for £140,000, demolished and Farrholme was built on its site. Its gateposts, tower gatehouse and the crenellated wall for its fruit garden remain, and on the bank down to the river, its distinctive lodge house can still be seen among the trees.