Lambton Castle

Lambton Castle in the late nineteenth century.

Lambton Castle, located in County Durham, North East England, between the towns of Washington and Chester-le-Street, is the ancestral home of the Lambton family, the Earls of Durham. Largely constructed in its present form by John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham and one-time Governor General of Canada, in the early 1800s, it was designed by architects Joseph Bonomi the Elder and his son Ignatius and built in the style of a Norman castle. The building overlooks the wooded Wear Valley and it was paid for with coal mining wealth accumulated from the mines which ran below the castle and others right across County Durham.

Much of the house, including the great hall, was demolished due to subsidence in the 1930s, ironically caused by the same mines from which Lambton wealth had been obtained. Also at this time, the contents were auctioned off to pay death duties and the family moved to the smaller Biddick Hall on the estate.

Today, the castle is something of an anachronism. It stands empty, but continues to be maintained and remains the ancestral home of the Lambton family. It has been speculated that the family members have no wish, or simply cannot afford, to live there, but at the same time will not allow the building to become a conference centre or hotel.

Lambton Park, which surrounds the castle is bordered by a high wall and is still used for an annual pheasant shoot.

For a time in the 1960s and 1970s, the castle's grounds were also home to Lambton Lion Park.

Penshaw Monument, an Ancient Greek-style memorial to the first Earl, is located on Penshaw Hill near the Lambton Estate. This was also the resting place of the mythical Lambton Worm, as depicted in the famous North East folk song.

The northern edge of Lambton Park marks the boundary between the counties of Tyne and Wear and County Durham.