Hundreds of historic buildings are throwing open their doors for Britain's Heritage Open Days weekend.

Marjorie McIntyre reports on Seaton Holme

SEATON HOLME in Easington Village was constructed in the 13th Century and is believed to be one of the oldest domestic buildings in England.

For the past decade, it has been used as a community arts centre and offices, but this weekend it will be revealing some of its long and colourful history.

A Grade I Listed building, the former rectory for the nearby St Mary's Church, stands majestically at one of the entrances to the ancient and rural east Durham village.

The rectory was constructed as a 17-roomed dwelling house, partly slated and partly tiled, its frontage stretching to 133ft in length with numerous outhouses including stables, barns, coach house, granary and corn chamber.

Throughout the centuries Easington held close associations with the Church and it is believed the community possessed a place of worship as far back as Saxon times.

By medieval times it was one of the richest parishes in the Bishopric and Archdeacons of Durham continued to hold the rectorship from 1256 to 1832 with many of the incumbents moving into high positions.

Some of the most notable include Robert of Geneva who became Pope Clement VII in 1378, Anthony Bek, the soldier Bishop, and Bernard Gilpin, the Apostle of the North.

Major rebuilding work was carried out in the 15th Century with upper storeys being rebuilt and the layout of this period is well preserved throughout the building and its central hall.

Over the years, the rectory was extensively altered and renovation work in 1990 unearthed many of its old features.

The Reverend Henry George Liddell was the first rector not to be an archdeacon as well as a rector. Born in Ravensworth Castle, he married Charlotte Lyon, niece of the Earl of Strathmore, the late Queen Mother's family. Mr Liddell was also the grandfather of Alice Pleasance Liddell, who was immortalised by Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The advent of the mining industry and the resulting fragmentation of parishes rendered the building too expensive to run and a new rectory was bought nearby.

The building was then sold to the Board of Guardians in 1921 and became a children's home. Later, it came into the ownership of Durham County Council and was used as a community building for social services until a ceiling collapse forced its closure.

After five years standing empty and shored up, it was sold to Easington Village Parish Council for £1 and, with the help of £500,000 in grants, was restored, re-opening in April 1992 as a multi-purpose arts and community centre and the headquarters for Groundwork East Durham.

This weekend, visitors will be given the chance to view some of the features of Seaton Holme's rich past, including an adjacent barn with its intricate beamed ceiling.

* Tomorrow, we feature Durham Castle - the fortress that helped the English shore up their power north of the border. To find out more, and discover what you can see and do in Durham City and South-West Durham, be sure to buy Wednesday's Northern Echo.