Dunston Hill, Whickham. The evolution of a country house and estate over three centuries

Pears, Richard

Abstract

The Dunston Hill estate was created by the Carr (later Carr-Ellison) family, whose mercantile connections stretched from British America to the Baltic. Income from trade, agriculture, coal mining and banking
enabled the family to build and later extend the house, a demonstration of their aesthetic taste and social status. This article traces the history of the Dunston Hill House and estate from c.1705 to 2023, drawing upon newly available detailed documentary sources. This an opportunity to investigate several themes in British country house studies: the importance of the mercantile wealth in establishing family fortunes; country house and land ownership as a means for merchants to enhance their status by becoming county gentry; the influence of national aesthetic trends in defining provincial architecture; and for the reuse of redundant country houses in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries.

Citation

Pears, R. (2024). Dunston Hill, Whickham. The evolution of a country house and estate over three centuries. Archaeologia Aeliana, 6(3), 307-342

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 31, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2027
• Publication Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 12, 2025
• Journal: Archaeologia Aeliana
• Print ISSN: 0261-3417
• Publisher: Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 307-342
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3707324
• Publisher URL: https://www.newcastle-antiquaries.org.uk/