Quartermaster's enters its eighth year

We are lucky at Brancepeth Castle to have so much space, but the question is always which areas should we next bring back into use, and what is each area best suited for? Some parts were offices and laboratories from the days when the building was Jobling’s advance research station and are relatively easy (in castle terms) to re-purpose. Others have not been used since the army left over 60 years ago, and present a much bigger challenge.

Quartermaster’s was one such area. The rooms had served as army kitchens, but when we moved in to the castle there was no power supply, no water and not even any windows – the rooms were no use to Joblings so they blocked up the windows and sealed the rooms off.

For its size, this was one of the biggest projects to take on, but we could see the rooms would make a lovely sunny flat once they had been restored.

The last bit of work – tiling in the kitchen area – was finished in March 2017, photographs were taken and in April the flat was advertised on TripAdvisor. Our first guests arrived in May and it was a success from the start – by the end of that year we had had 24 bookings.

Since opening we have had the privilege of welcoming 220 sets of guests, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, both in the flat’s visitor book and online. TripAdvisor have awarded us their Certificate of Excellence (now called Travellers/ Choice) four years in a row.

The income from Quartermaster’s makes an important contribution to castle finances. All the work to keep it running is carried out by the family, so all profit goes straight back into castle maintenance and improvement projects. Thank you to everyone who has stayed – you really have helped make a difference.