Washington Old Hall
Formerly owned by the Bishop of Durham this charming old manor house, located in the ancient village of Wessyngton, came into the possession of William de Hertburn in 1183. He married the King of Scotland's sister and lived in a fortified house on this site, the hall being added about 100 years later, of which some parts are still visible in the existing great hall of the present house. Wessyngton had various spellings until it evolved into Washington, being derived from the Anglo Saxon - Hwaes a Saxon chieftain, Inga meaning family of, and Tun an estate - the estate of Hwae's (Wassa's) family. William de Hertburn, the first ancestor of the first President of the United States, became William de Wessyngton (Washington). Before surnames were in general use, nobles and landowners assumed the name of the property they owned.
Had William not moved to Wessyngton in 1183, his descendant, America's first President together with its capital, might have been named Hertburn (the modern English Heartburn).
Five generations of George Washington's direct ancestors lived in Washington Old Hall before the family moved south and then emigrated in 1657 to Northern Neck in the new colony of Virginia. By 1400 the Washington family had spread further afield, and in 1613 the ownership of the estate had turned full circle returning again to the Bishop of Durham. It was at this juncture that the Old Hall was rebuilt, transforming the property into a comfortable five-bedroomed gentry house. During the 17 th and 18 th centuries the Hall had a succession of tenants and by the end of the 19th century it had become a working class tenement block housing people in the most appalling conditions. By the early 20 th century the Hall, unkept and uncared for, had deteriorated into an unsightly health hazard. In 1936 it was on the point of being demolished for redevelopment when a preservation order was served on behalf of a committee of local people, who were concerned enough to save the now derelict structure. It was subsequently decided to restore the property to its original Jacobean condition; built of local sandstone it stands on the old 12 th century foundations. The present hall retains parts of the medieval house once inhabited by the Washington family, most prominently the arches between the Kitchen and the Great Hall.
Descendants of William Washington had moved to Northamptonshire in the mid 1500's and it was here that Lawrence Washington became a wealthy wool merchant, establishing his family home in the county. In 1657 his grandson emigrated to Virginia to seek his fortune among the tobacco plantations, and three generations later George Washington was born there. From humble beginnings as the son of a Virginia tobacco planter, General George Washington, leader of the Revolution, became the first President of the United States in 1789 with the capital city being named after him in his honour; his family coat of arms became the forerunner of the ‘stars and stripes' of America.
With his roots firmly established in England and his ancestral history starting at Washington Old Hall, there is much memorabilia of George Washington's life on display in this lovely 17 th century English manor house. The rebuilding project received generous donations from America whose citizens very proud of their historical link with the origins of the Washington family, spanning some 800-years. In 1955, the American Ambassador declared Washington Old hall open to the public and in 1977 President Carter made a personal visit to the site. A strong and affectionate bond remains between Washington village and the American people and is always a popular venue for visitors from the United States.