New chapter beckons for Blagraves, Barnard Castle's most historic house

Restaurant owners Ken and Elizabeth Marley are selling up after 28 years at the oldest property in Barnard Castle. Ken told Alex Metcalfe about its living, breathing history

OLIVER Cromwell, Richard III and Mount Everest have little in common. All claimed lives at one point or another, but the unlikely trio also have a link to a four-storey restaurant on The Bank, in Barnard Castle.
When Ken and Elizabeth Marley moved into grade I listed Blagraves back in 1988 they became the key holders of the oldest house in Barnard Castle.
After 28 years filled with digging, discoveries and dinners, the pair are selling up.
But Mr Marley says they won’t be handing on the 15th century structure to just anyone.
“If the right person doesn’t come along for a year or two we are in no hurry to leave it – it must go to the right person who will look after it,” he says.
“We will not rush.”
Full of chatter and replete in chef’s garb, Mr Marley leads me down the winding staircases of Blagraves.
Like many others before me, I bang my head on the doorway lintels – people were shorter in centuries gone by.
“It’s been many things over the years – a private house, a museum, a pub, a rope makers, but what it’s always been is a living breathing house,” he says.
“The first week we were here we were told about the history of the place and I am still finding things out about it today.”
Regular visits from English Heritage mean the pair juggle running a business with keeping Blagraves standing for future generations.
From repairing chimney stacks to renewing plumbing, the 60-year-old tells me their guardianship has been a labour of love.
He says: “A lot of people say it must cost a fortune to maintain an old property but the walls, foundations and roof are sound – they’ve been here 600 years.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with English Heritage.
“We’ve used wattle and daub and horse hair plaster.
“Nobody can see it but you have to – you have take it to the enth degree.”
As well as plumbing, electricity and chimneys, Mr Marley has customers to look after.
On days when it all gets too much, he says the house is the perfect place to reflect.
“We have loved our time here – like any business person, especially a small business, there are times it gets on top of you,” he says.
“Once everything is done on a poor night I will sit in front of the fire for a while, get a glass of wine and after 15 or 20 minutes I realise things aren't too bad.”
Mr Marley used to give guided tours of the house but he found the high demand for his hour long narrations difficult to manage.
After reluctantly bringing them to an end, he still occasionally offers guests “the works”.
It doesn’t require any arm twisting to get him to lead me into the bowels of the Blagraves.
“We have not stopped its historic character – we’ve opened it up for people to see,” he explains.
“It’s not sterile and not some little toy museum – it’s a living, breathing working business.
“That’s what we have strived for over the years.”
Dating back to the 1480s, Blagraves was thought to have been owned by an agent of Richard III, Miles Forest.
Questions have swirled about the role of Miles Forest, the Princes in the Tower and the link to Blagraves.
But Mr Marley pours cold water on any outlandish theories.
“I question his role having spoken to the Richard III Society,” he says.
“In 1648, Blagraves provided Oliver Cromwell with a dwelling when his army was camped on the Demesnes.
“It’s surrounded by history – that’s the thing I love about the property.”
Further down, Mr Marley tells me of another, more modern, mystery intertwining with Blagraves.
In 1999, the body of mountaineer George Mallory was found on Mount Everest – 75 years after his disappearance.
Fierce arguments are still fought today over whether the British team of Mallory and Irvine reached the summit 30 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
But what is less disputable is where the rope they used came from.
“The ropes were made downstairs and we think they used them,” says Mr Marley.
“A lot of local people have a lot of genuine love for the place and regard it as one of the jewels in the crown of Barnard Castle.”
Ancient tunnels to the castle and narrow pathways to neighbouring houses have been uncovered by countless excavations in Blagraves.
More than two decades of his own digging has seen Mr Marley carve out four gaping basements – the perfect conditions for modern day punters.
“We’ve had real ale installed as there used to be a brewery,” he says.
“At the end of the working day you would change the spials to let the air through so the beer doesn't ferment.
“It is the same as what somebody would have done 400 years ago.
“We've been doing exactly the same thing because it is a breathing property not a stuffy nine-to-five museum,” he adds.
It’s hard to put a value on Blagraves but its market price sits at about £500,000.
Mr Marley says selling wasn’t a decision made lightly. He adds: “We want to get it right because it’s so noticeable and iconic.
“We’ve just got such love for the place and we’ve maintained it as best we can.
“We feel honoured and privileged – that’s the bottom line.”