THE myths and legends buried in the foundations of a historic hall have been resurrected, following a concerted effort which has seen the grade II* listed building taken off taken off an official buildings at risk list.

Historic England has removed Sockburn Hall, near Neasham, Darlington, from its endangered buildings register, almost 20 years after the derelict neo-Jacobean style property was listed as being in peril.

Carl Ross, of Naru and Ross Architects of Yarm said the huge renovation project had been “quite a challenge”.

The hall was built on the site of a medieval manor house, believed to once be the home of Sir John Conyers, the knight that legend has it slayed a ferocious dragon, known as the Sockburn Worm.

Over the decades, the 1834-built hall became unoccupied and had fallen into deep disrepair and was damp and without a watertight roof.

In 2007, volunteers threw themselves into a project to save the hall by clearing dense overgrowth and transforming the “sinister” home to a skeleton ready for development.

English Heritage provided a grant to repair the roof and the Gatheral family – who had owned the property and its ruined Saxon church since the 1950s – put the building up for sale for offers in excess of £500,000 in 2015.

The purchaser was a private individual, who has worked with Naru and Ross Architects to transform the derelict hall into a family home.

A collaboration between the architects, Darlington Borough Council, Historic England and specialist conservation consultants, has seen the external skin of the building, along with its three bays, attic spaces and shaped gables restored. Painstaking repairs have also been carried out to the roof, stonework, including window sills, chimneys and original oak panelling.

A Historic England spokesman said: “Historic England and Darlington Borough Council worked with the family who previously owned the building to explore options for the repair and re-use of the building.”

However, the piece of North-East history was ultimately saved by the new owners.

Rosalind Kain, the council’s historic assets officer said: “Fortunately, when it was sold in December 2015, the new owner bought it to restore the 1834 former hunting lodge to a substantial family home.

“We have had a lot of productive discussions with the owner, his architect and specialist contractors about conservative repair methods, traditional materials and agreed to limited alterations to restore the grade II* listed property.

A number of Listed Building consent applications were approved by the council to ensure the property was completely restored externally and internally.

“It is now back to the grandeur it had when it was first built and is a cherished and unique family home. This is one of Darlington’s most significant heritage assets, it’s very satisfying to see it lived in again and restored to its original splendour.”

The scheme which saved the historic hall from collapse has been put forward for a Historic England Angel Award.