4* country house hotel and spa near Barnard Castle
BookMember since 2022
The award-winning Gilroy's restaurant is situated in the main house.
Ingredients are carefully sourced from local suppliers – pork and eggs come from the owner's farm, just a few miles away. Fruits – apples, pears, plums, damsons and grapes – handpicked from the farm are used to make deliciously fresh jams and sauces.
Gilroy's is smart without being stuffy – splashes of colour juxtapose with oak panelling, a woodblock floor and leather-upholstered seating.
The name Gilroy's comes from the famous artist John Gilroy who is famed for his work for Guinness and the marketing of this world famous product.
Around the hotel you will find his influence with framed work depicting the early advertising he produced and also the dickens themed mural which adorns the walls in The Dickens Bar and Bistro. He painted this in 1946 to clear a debt he owed to the owner and it still stands proud as a talking point for all of visitors to view.
The Dickens Bar and Bistro is a classic country pub within a four star country house hotel and it offers that feel of escaping all of the urban hubbub.
In 1838, a young Charles Dickens travelled north to research his third classic, Nicholas Nickleby. At that time, Teesdale was at the centre of a scandal – the home of the notorious Yorkshire schools, severe residential academies that subjected inmates to inhuman regimes.
It is thought that Dickens stayed at The Morritt during his travels and it's certainly something that's taken to heart – the bar has huge murals depicting Dickensian scenes. Hand-painted by the famous Northumbrian artist John Gilroy, they're one-of-a-kind.
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