MenuKepier Farm, Durham
Kepier Farm (aka Keiper Hospital) is part of a former mediæval hospital, now a farmhouse in County Durham. The hospital was founded at Gilesgate, Durham, by Bishop Flambard as an almshouse. The first hospital chapel, now St Giles Church, Gilesgate, was dedicated in June 1112. The hospital was re-founded beside the River Wear at Kepier in about 1180 by Bishop Hugh le Puiset. Kepier was frequently bound up with the politics of the border country, with Edward I and Queen Isabella staying at the hospital on their journeys north. Kepier suffered from raids by the Scots. Kepier Hospital was inspected in 1535 as part of Henry VIII's Valor Ecclesiasticus survey of monasteries. It was shown to be the richest hospital in the diocese. Henry ordered the closure of the lesser monastic houses, including Kepier, prompting the doomed ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’ rebellion. The first hospital church remains in use as the parish church of St Giles, Gilesgate. No other buildings from the first hospital survive. It is within the council area of County Durham. More...
Historic England Grade II* Listed 1159216.
Place Type: Mediæval Monument
Historic County: Durham
Lat, Long: 54.783751,-1.5624886
Grid Reference: NZ 2823 4329
Civil Parish: Belmont CP
Council Area: County Durham CA
Strategic Authority Area: North East SA
Police Area: Durham PA
GBPN ID: 302685
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Kepier_Farm,_Durham_302685
Peruse Durham on Wikishire
Lay owners of Kepier, the Heath family, made substantial alterations to the hospital site, including laying out of gardens and the erection of a mansion where the chapel and infirmary may have once stood. By 1827 this house had become a 'Kepier Inn' or the 'White Bear'. Of the hospital site itself, the gatehouse is intact, the mansion survives as ruins, and the farmhouse is in private use.
The site is now a Scheduled Monument with Grade I and Grade II listed building status. Many of the routes of travel between Kepier, Gilesgate and the hospitals lands at Caldecotes and Clifton exist as public footpaths and bridleways. The tithe barn at High Grange, used to store Kepier's corn, survived until 1964.
Historic England Grade II* Listed 1159216.
Place Type: Mediæval Monument
Historic County: Durham
Lat, Long: 54.783751,-1.5624886
Grid Reference: NZ 2823 4329
Civil Parish: Belmont CP
Council Area: County Durham CA
Strategic Authority Area: North East SA
Police Area: Durham PA
GBPN ID: 302685
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Kepier_Farm,_Durham_302685
Peruse Durham on WikishireLay owners of Kepier, the Heath family, made substantial alterations to the hospital site, including laying out of gardens and the erection of a mansion where the chapel and infirmary may have once stood. By 1827 this house had become a 'Kepier Inn' or the 'White Bear'. Of the hospital site itself, the gatehouse is intact, the mansion survives as ruins, and the farmhouse is in private use.
The site is now a Scheduled Monument with Grade I and Grade II listed building status. Many of the routes of travel between Kepier, Gilesgate and the hospitals lands at Caldecotes and Clifton exist as public footpaths and bridleways. The tithe barn at High Grange, used to store Kepier's corn, survived until 1964.