Bywell Hall

Home to the Beaumont family since 1810, the Palladian building sits by the River Tyne at Bywell, Northumberland. The privately owned 18th century country house is a Grade II listed building set in extensive parkland and houses an important collection of furniture and art. The manor of Bywell and Bywell Castle were owned by the Neville family in the 14th century but following the attainder of Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland for his part in the Rising of the North the Neville estates were forfeited and Bywell was sold in 1571 by the Crown to the Fenwick family. William Fenwick (son of John Fenwick High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1727) built the new house at Bywell to designs by architect James Paine in 1760. Alterations were made by John Dobson in 1817, and further extensions were added in the 1890s. The estate was sold to Thomas W Beaumont for £145,000 early in the 19th century and the house was improved by the Beaumonts, with the assistance of architect John Dobson, in 1827 and further altered later in the 19th century. Bywell Hall is now home to The Hon Wentworth Beaumont and his wife and three children. The Bywell beat of the River Tyne is one of the best stretches of salmon fishing in England. Running directly through the estate, the beat is 2.5 miles long and fishing is from both banks.