The Gatehouse website record for Seaton Holme, Easington

In the civil parish of Easington Village. In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Durham, 1974 county of County Durham).

In 1248, Seaton Holme, built for the retirement of Prince Bishop Farnham, was to become a major landmark for the governing dynasty, acting as the administrative centre for the area. The earliest phase in the development of Seaton Holme for which there is evidence above ground is an aisled hall with adjoining wing to the east, both of stone rubble. All the indications are that this was part of a mid C13 building phase, this date is suggested by documentary sources and confirmed by dendrochronology. The east wing was at least partly rebuilt in the late C13-early C14. The wing housed services on the ground floor and provided a great chamber on the first. The hall range was rebuilt with a considerably taller open hall in the second half of C15. The two wings were later re-roofed, and the west wing raised in height by almost one metre. Dendrochronological analysis has dated the re-roofing of the west wing to the early C16. The trusses of the east wing have timbers dating to both the late C15 and late C16, suggesting that the wing may have been re-roofed at the same time that the hall range was rebuilt, but was then at least partially rebuilt a century later. In the late C18 and early C19 the building was extensively renovated, in the course of which the interior was remodelled and the west wing virtually rebuilt.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ41374352

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 27214
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is D12581 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant.

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.