Axwell House

An early manor house on the site was acquired by James Clavering, a merchant adventurer of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1629 for £1,700. In 1758 his descendant Sir Thomas Clavering of the Clavering baronets replaced the house with a substantial mansion and assisted architect James Paine (1712–89) in the Palladian design of the new house. The grounds were laid out in the style of Capability Brown. Alterations were around 1818 by John Dobson. The hall and its surrounding 60 acre was converted for use as the Newcastle Ragged School in 1920. It was initially an Industrial School and then an Approved school. It had spaces for 153 children and closed in 1981. Having stood empty, neglected and…

The three-storey stone building has a slate roof. The south front has a three-bay with a pediment. It was designated as a Grade II* listed building in 1985. as is the late 18th or early 19th-century sandstone bridge 280 m south of the house. The attached farm has a late 18th or early 19th-century dovecote. The grounds also included a dairy, walled kitchen garden and stables.