Gibside was inherited in 1722 by George Bowes, a landowner and public figure made rich by coal. After his first wife died, he made Gibside his home and set about embellishing the park. The Banqueting House seems to have been finished by 1746. It was designed by Daniel Garrett, a former assistant of Lord Burlington’s, to stand in the highest part of the park, looking over the Derwent valley.

When we first saw The Banqueting House in 1977 it was almost entirely roofless and the porch and crocketed gables had collapsed. The park, now happily transferred to the National Trust by the Earl of Strathmore and open to the public, was let to the Forestry Commission and The Banqueting House was hidden by trees.

Here was, however, an important building of most original design, part of a famous landscape. The Forestry Commission agreed to give up their lease of it and the Strathmore Estate then sold us the freehold. Most of the missing stonework was found nearby and inside we were able to save much of the plasterwork and joinery of one room. But the Great Room was just a shell: here we replaced only the main elements of Garrett’s design, known from an old photograph.

The Banqueting House now stands in a grassy clearing, looking down to an octagonal pool and the valley beyond. Nearby, the Column of British Liberty rises high above the trees and a little further off lies the Gibside chapel, designed by James Paine in 1760 to hold the remains of George Bowes, ancestor of our Queen.

View our history sheet for this Landmark.

Sleeps: 2+2