Croxdale Hall is a privately owned country mansion situated at Croxdale

Croxdale

Croxdale is a village in the civil parish of Croxdale and Hett, about 3 miles south of Durham City, in County Durham in England and on the A167 road, formerly part of the Great North Road.It is the location of Croxdale Hall, a Grade I listed building...

 near Sunderland Bridge, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

. It is a Grade I listed building.

The staunchly Roman Catholic Salvin family came to Croxdale by the marriage in 1402 of Gerald Salvin of Harswell

Harswell

Harswell is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of Market Weighton town centre and south of Pocklington town centre.It lies a mile west of the A614 road....

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 to Agnes Wharton, heiress of Croxdale. They have held the property ever since.

The house originally in Tudor style

Tudor architecture

The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 dates from the 17th century but major alterations in about 1760 were carried out probably to designs by architect John Carr, including the two storey seven bay west entrance front. The impressive internal Rococo

Rococo

Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

 plasterwork dates from this time.

Further alterations by architect James Wyatt

James Wyatt

James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...

 in about 1807 included the addition of a five bay south wing and the insertion of a Gothic style Roman Catholic chapel into the 18th century north wing.

A disused 12th century chapel which stands in the grounds is a Scheduled Ancient Monument

Scheduled Ancient Monument

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...

 and also a Grade I listed building. It was in use as a Chapel of Ease

Chapel of ease

A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....

 to St Oswalds, Elvet

Elvet

Elvet is an area of the city of Durham, in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the opposite side of the River Wear from Durham Cathedral and forms the south-eastern part of central Durham. Elvet is currently unparished. Historically, the word 'elvet' is a word meaning 'swan' or...

 until the new parish church of St Bartholomew was built by the Salvins in 1845. The chapel is on English Heritage

English Heritage

English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...

's Buildings At Risk register and is deep to be in poor condition, particularly due to severe damp. Also in the grounds is an 18th century house ( Grade II* listed) which housed the priests who served as Chaplain

Chaplain

Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

s to the Salvin family.

The house served as a military hospital 1940-1945 and thereafter as a maternity home until 1952. More recently the Hall has been restored as a family home.

The house is open the public only by appointment (see the Visit North East England reference for details).