Matfen Hall

Maften Hall Hotel and Country Club
General information
Location	Matfen, Northumberland, England
Coordinates	55°2′20″N 1°56′52″W / 55.03889°N 1.94778°W / 55.03889; -1.94778Coordinates: 55°2′20″N 1°56′52″W / 55.03889°N 1.94778°W / 55.03889; -1.94778

Matfen Hall is a 19th century country mansion in Matfen, Northumberland, England the seat of the Blackett Baronets and now also an hotel and country golf club. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The manor of West Matfen was owned in the 13th century by Philip de Ulcote and passed through his sisters to Felton, by marriage to Hastings and later to Lawson. In 1625 the estate was bought by Lancelot Fenwick of a branch the old established local family of Fenwick Tower. The manor and manor house, West Matfen High Hall, was sold in 1680 to John Douglas. His granddaughter and Douglas heiress married Sir Edward Blackett Bt. in 1757, thereby bringing the estate into the Blackett family.

Golf course

The present house was built to replace the old manor, in 1828 for Sir Edward Blackett, 6th Baronet. The impressive Jacobean style mansion has a three-storey seven-bay entrance front. An important internal feature is a full-height Gothic hall.

The hotel is renoun for its haunted activity and has appeared on the UK's Most Haunted programme. A number of ghosts have been spotted around the hotel; the most famous being the "blue boy" who at midnight has been spotted around the hall crying out and moaning in agony or maybe fear. The noises could be traced to a spot near a passage cut through a ten foot wall. When the bloodcurdling wails die away a soft halo of light appears around an old four poster bed. Anyone sleeping there, even today, can see the figure of a young boy dressed in blue, and surrounded by light. Behind the wall the bones of a young boy and fragments of blue clothing were discovered.

Another ghost, Mary, the wife of Philip de Ulcote, searches for her husband, who ran off with her sister. She appears desolate and broken hearted living in the castle by herself with only her baby girl as a companion. The rustle of her dress can be heard as she passes you by in the turret stairs.

Between 1965 and 1994 the house was leased out, operating as The Northumberland Cheshire Home.^[1]

Sir Hugh Blackett, the 12th Baronet and Lady Blackett have since converted the hall into an hotel and country club, which opened in 1999. The Blacketts now live at Halton Castle a few miles west of Matfen.

References

• English Heritage: Images of England, photograph and architectural description
• History, Topography and Directory of Northumberland William Whellan (1855) p813 Google Books

1. ^ [1] Hexham Courant, 30 Oct 2009