Mysterious Britain & Ireland

Country and County: Durham

Apparitions / Haunted Hotels / Haunted Wedding Venue / Hauntings

The Walworth Castle Hotel

Walworth Castle, near Darlington, County Durham, is a Best Western Hotel, with an extensive and complicated history. The current building is Grade 1 listed, and its medieval style was commissioned by its one time owner Thomas Jenison (died 1586), and completed circa 1600.

Apparitions / Hauntings

Mortham Tower

A private residence, Mortham Tower is a Grade I listed fortified courtyard house and pele tower dating from the time of King Henry VII (1485-1509), with a reputation for having been haunted 200 years ago. The estate was the seat of the Rokeby family after William of Mortham sold the estate to a Thomas de Rokeby and by 1286 the manors of Rokeby and Mortham were held by Alexander de Rokeby.

Apparitions / Hauntings

The Ghost of Ann Walker

According to Arthur L Hayward’s ‘Lives of the most remarkable criminals: Who have been Condemned and Executed for Murder, the Highway, Housebreaking, Street Robberies, Coining or other offences’ (1735), the ghost of Ann Walker named her murderer in the early 17th century.

An Account of the Conviction and Execution of Mr. WALKER, and MARK SHARP, for the Murder of ANN WALKER

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Articles / Legends

Legend Of The Pollard Brawn

Legend has it that at some time in the middle ages the Bishop Auckland area was the haunt of a huge, ferocious brawn (or boar), which terrorised this part of the Wear valley in much the same way as the Lambton worm at Chester le Street.

Dragons / Legends

Sockburn

Sockburn village now comprises of a ruined church, a farmhouse and a mansion called Sockburn Hall (built in 1834) all positioned within a loop in the River Tees known locally as Sockburn Peninsula. Sockburn has an amazing secret history though, as it is a place where bishops were crowned, a dragon was killed and some of our greatest writers fell in love.