Lord Crewe Arms
North East England County Durham Stanhope
- From £204 a night
- 26 Guest Rooms & Suites
- Historic Hotel
A cosy country hotel in a glorious location, with history to spare
This much-loved inn right on the Durham/Northumberland border is an extraordinary building with an extraordinary history – a 12th-century former abbot’s lodgings that dominates the impeccably preserved village of Blanchland, tucked under the local moors. Inside the main building, it’s all stone corridors, flagstoned floors, soaring ceilings, heraldic shields, hidden nooks and majestic fireplaces, including one that hides a secret ‘Priest’s Hole’, where Jacobite rebels once sheltered.
There are guest rooms in the main building, the 'Angel' cottages opposite and the restored 'miners cottages' that flank the next door cobbled square, and while no two are the same, you can count on a certain updated country-chic style. They’re classed as ‘Cosy’ (the smallest), ‘Canny’ or ‘Champion’ (the best), although all feature king-size beds, robes, tea and coffee, water, homemade biscuits and treats, Noble Isle toiletries and carefully selected art and furniture. There are also binoculars in each bedroom, and telescopes in some, for star-spotting and birdwatching. The Champion rooms and two Garden suites also boast Nespresso machines; the Blackdene Garden suites is particularly lovely, a charming cottage duplex with an open log fire and a winding staircase to an upstairs bedroom. Colours throughout are earthy and muted – as restful as the peaceful surroundings, where the loudest sound you’ll hear in the morning is birdsong. Breakfast is a brilliant start to the day, with home-baked bread, locally smoked salmon, eggs benedict or the full fry-up to set you up. Drinking in the medieval Crypt bar and eating in the Bishop’s Dining Room is as atmospheric at it sounds, while the hotel's grassy gardens back onto the old priory church next door.The restaurant menu changes daily but is always focused around local produce and fine yet hearty cooking that attracts plenty of non-residents.
It's a dog-friendly hotel (14 rooms take dogs) and a perfect place from which to explore either County Durham or Northumberland – it’s a short trip over the lonely moors either way, to Stanhope in Weardale or to Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall. Meanwhile, the helpful staff are on hand to organise local nature and history walks and regular stargazing events between October and March. The Lord Crewe Arms is also a bit of a venue for country sports and outdoor activities, whether it’s shooting and fishing, or just enjoying nearby bike trails (you can hire ebikes at the hotel) or the sailing and paddleboarding delights of nearby Derwent Reservoir. With its adjacent Gatehouse suite, it makes a pretty sensational wedding venue too. Be sure to check out sister properties Calcot & Spa and The Painswick, if you're visiting The Cotswolds.
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Details
Facilities
Built by monks, our building is most definitely quirky, our pub is a medieval vaulted tunnel where meats were once cured, our downstair restaurant features an open fire place once hidden in by a runaway Jacobite and now showcasing our French spit and grill on which our chefs cook ‘fireside food’, our private dining room even has its own medieval guardarobe (a medieval toilet!) and our gardens showcase the 12th century cloisters to the Abbey next door we unearthed during our 2 year restoration effort. Our décor is country, but high quality, designed to be as sympathetic to the building as possible and cosy to our guests that come through the door. We are all about our smoke house, garden kitchen, and our soon to arrive chickens!
Remote working: All rooms have the features as standard below. We also have an area called The Gatehouse which offers a meeting room, kitchen/demo area and lounge with log burner
- Desk
- Lamp
- Free WiFi and plenty of plug sockets
- Nespresso machine
- Homemade biscuits and fudge
Suitable For
Accessibility: The property is not fully accessible, full statement available on their website for which rooms are accessible.Open
Open all year.Pricing
Double rooms from £164 a night including breakfast.Why Book Direct?
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The Owner Says
Built in the 12th century as an Abbots Guest House, The Lord Crewe Arms has been the local ‘inn’ in Blanchland, since the 1700’s. After 2 years of careful refurbishment, we reopened as part of The Calcot Collection. We are a 21 bedroom Inn offering cosy ‘country’ rooms, two restaurants; The Larders and The Bishops Dining Room, serving proper ‘country’ food and a pub ‘The Crypt Bar’ which has a good range of local ales (including our own) and good wines.
Location
Contact Website 01434 675 469 Lord Crewe Arms, The Square, Blanchland, County Durham DH8 9SPFeatures
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