Woolsington Hall

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Woolsington Hall is a large old country house on a 92-acre estate in Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, just south of Newcastle Airport. It is a Grade II* listed building, and the surrounding stables, coach house, orangery, walled garden and east wing are also listed. The hall itself is not habitable and needs full restoration. Since 2002 it has been on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register because it is vacant and deteriorating.

The hall was built in the late 17th century and updated in the late 18th to early 19th century, when wings were added. It is made of stone with decorative edge stones and has a slate roof from the Lake District.

Woolsington Hall was the home of the Bell family, local landowners. In 1828 Matthew Bell, MP for Northumberland, lived there. In May 1915, all four battalions of the 103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade camped there briefly; conditions were so poor that many locals went home.

In 1994 the hall was bought by Sir John Hall’s Cameron Hall Developments for £1.32 million. They planned various development ideas, including a Newcastle United football academy (which was later built in Little Benton) and a luxury hotel and golf course. Newcastle City Council threatened action in 2005 unless repairs were made. The hall was put up for sale in October 2012 for £2 million but was withdrawn in May 2013, described by the Daily Telegraph as a “distressed asset.” The estate had been made weather tight in 2008.

Since 2002 the hall has been on the Heritage at Risk Register for slow decay. On 30 December 2015 a fire gutted the building, destroying its floors and roof; police treated it as arson and asked for information. The site is now listed as in very bad condition. The Leazes Gates from St James’ Park were kept on the estate until restoration in 2013, and were hoped to become the entrance to a new training centre.