Victor Mazzini Walton (1864–1955) The Man Behind Blagraves House of Mystery

From Newcastle to Cornwall

Victor Mazzini Walton was born on 10 July 1864 in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, the son of Robert and Emma Walton. His unusual middle name was shared with Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian revolutionary who had become well known in Britain during the struggle for Italian unification. Victor wasn't the only child to receive an unusual name. One of his brothers was Joseph Garibaldi Walton, named after another famous figure from the same movement, while another was called Tom Hugo Manin Walton. The family clearly took an interest in events beyond Newcastle. 

In 1871, the Waltons were living at 8 Barker Street in Newcastle. Victor was six years old, and his father Robert was working as a cabinet maker. Ten years later, the family had moved to 60 Addison Road, where Robert was now recorded as a bookseller. Victor, aged sixteen, was working as a drysalter's apprentice, learning a trade supplying chemicals, oils, dyes and other materials to businesses and manufacturers. His early working life was quite practical, although he would soon move into something different. By the 1891 census, he was living at 84 Dickinson Crescent in Gosforth with his wife Annie, whose maiden name was Egdell, and their young family. His occupation was recorded as commercial traveller, a job that involved visiting customers and securing orders on behalf of a business.

Victor was also developing an interest in art. During the 1890s, he exhibited sketches through Newcastle's Bewick Club, which brought local artists together and provided opportunities to display their work. Painting became important enough for him to leave the North East in the spring of 1900 and travel to Newlyn in Cornwall, where he studied under Stanhope Forbes. Newlyn had become a centre for artists who painted fishing communities, working people and ordinary life, and Forbes was one of the leading figures in the group. Victor's departure was even mentioned in the newspapers, with Robert M. Tate advertising a sale on his behalf before he left for the South.

Later that year, in October 1900, Victor and Annie's daughter Maud was born at Newlyn. The 1901 census recorded Victor as an artist or painter, although his commercial interests continued alongside his painting. By the following decade he was working in the confectionery trade, which developed into one of his most important businesses.

The Sweet Manufacturer and His Family

By 1911, Victor was recorded as a manufacturer of sweets, and Kelly's Directory of Northumberland and Durham for 1914 listed V. Walton & Co. among its confectioners, with business addresses in South Shields, Westoe and Jarrow. The business had grown beyond a single shop, with its activities extending across several North East locations.

The 1921 census gives a particularly good picture of the Walton family during these years. Victor and Annie were living in Scarborough with three of their adult children, Gladys, Ernest Victor and Maud. Victor, aged 56, described himself as a manufacturing confectioner and recorded that he was an employer. His son Ernest Victor, then aged 27, had entered the same trade and was working as an assistant confectioner at 19 Newland in Scarborough. Father and son would later appear together in probate records, both described as confectioners.

Gladys had gone into business too, although hers was rather different. At 31, she was working in a postcard gallery at 17 Sandside, Scarborough, while her younger sister Maud was recorded as carrying out home duties. Maud's birthplace was given as Newlyn, a reminder of the family's time in Cornwall twenty years earlier. 

The confectionery business must have been doing well, because by the end of the First World War Victor was investing serious money in property. 

The Pineapple Inn and Old Durham Gardens

In 1918, Victor purchased the Pineapple Inn, Old Durham Gardens and adjoining land near Pelaw Wood from Lord Londonderry for £1,625. The gardens stood above the River Wear. Their terraces, paths and gazebo had been used for public recreation, while the Pineapple Inn provided refreshments for visitors.

Victor continued developing the grounds as a pleasure garden. By 1921, advertisements were promoting tennis courts, a putting green, a running track and tea gardens, giving people several ways to spend an afternoon. The gardens later became particularly well known for their weekend dances, which were held on an open-air dance floor. One strange feature was the use of old aeroplane wings as screens between the tables around the outdoor dance floor. 

The Pineapple Inn lost its licence to sell alcohol during the 1920s, but the pleasure grounds continued operating. Visitors could still enjoy refreshments, and the dances remained a popular part of Durham's social life between the wars. Victor retained his interest in the property for more than thirty years, eventually selling it in 1949.

The House of Mystery on The Bank

Victor purchased Blagraves from Lord Barnard in 1923. The building was already one of the oldest and most distinctive houses on The Bank, with its heavy stonework, old fireplaces and rooms that had been altered many times over the centuries. Much of the surviving building dates from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and its history includes a period as an inn. Stories about famous visitors, including Oliver Cromwell, had circulated before Victor became its owner, but he was about to give people a great deal more to talk about.

He filled Blagraves with antique furniture, old weapons, paintings and all sorts of unusual objects, turning it into an antiques showroom and historical attraction. It became known at different times as Cromwell House, the Cromwell Museum and the House of Mystery. Victor also made alterations to the frontage, adding decorative features that gave the old building a much more elaborate appearance. Photographs taken before his ownership show how much it changed, while a Valentines postcard published in 1933 records the frontage after his changes. Inside, the rooms were filled with antiques, and Victor had plenty of stories to tell about what he believed had happened there.

One of the first appeared in the Teesdale Mercury on 31 October 1923, just months after he bought the building. A lengthy old document written on vellum had reportedly been discovered at Blagraves, supposedly dating from the reign of Richard II, who ruled England between 1377 and 1399. It was described as a rent roll containing details of tenants, payments and old estate regulations. That was quite a discovery to be claiming so soon after purchasing the house, but Victor's later stories would make an old rent roll seem rather ordinary.

By the 1930s, he was telling visitors that Blagraves had a connection with one of the most famous mysteries in English history, the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower.

The story goes back to 1483, when twelve-year-old Edward V inherited the English throne following the death of his father, King Edward IV. Edward and his younger brother Richard, the nine-year-old Duke of York, were taken to the Tower of London. Before Edward could be crowned, their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, took the throne and became King Richard III. The two boys disappeared from public view, and what happened to them has been argued about for more than five hundred years. One account, written years later by Sir Thomas More, accused men acting on Richard III's orders of murdering the brothers. one named person was Miles Forrest, a man who really did have a connection with Barnard Castle, having held office here during Richard III's reign.

And this was where Victor brought the story to Blagraves. He claimed that Richard III had given the house to Miles Forrest as a reward for helping murder the two young princes. By 1934, newspapers were reporting an even more extraordinary discovery. According to the story, a bloodstained document had been found hidden behind a chimney at Blagraves, supposedly proving the connection between the house, Forrest and the deaths of the boys. It was quite a claim, and the story attracted attention from newspapers across the country. Although Forrest's connection with Barnard Castle is genuine, there is no established historical evidence that Richard III rewarded him with Blagraves, and the supposed bloodstained document has never been authenticated.

Victor had plenty of other tales for anyone visiting his House of Mystery. There were stories of dungeons, hidden rooms, prisoners and secret passages leading away from the building. And he didn't simply stand there telling people about them. One newspaper described him handling old drinking vessels, picking up a sword and acting out a duel in one of the rooms. He also demonstrated what he presented as an escape passage, showing visitors how someone might have fled from danger centuries earlier. Anyone expecting a quiet look around an antiques shop must have been in for quite a surprise.

There was certainly a theatrical side to Victor. He had studied painting, collected antiques and spent years running businesses where attracting visitors was part of making a living. At Blagraves, he brought all of those interests together, surrounding himself with old objects and telling stories that could turn an ordinary visit into something far more entertaining. Whether he believed every detail of the extraordinary history he presented is something we can't know, but he certainly knew how to capture people's attention.

By the middle of the 1930s, Blagraves had become known far beyond Barnard Castle for its mysteries, and many of the stories Victor told continued to circulate long after his death. The old house had centuries of genuine history behind it, but its time as Victor Walton's House of Mystery had become a story of its own.

Thorngate House and a Fountain for Goldfish

In September 1929, Thorngate House was put up for sale at the Witham Hall in Barnard Castle. Its previous owner, Mrs Gothorpe, had moved to Well Hall between Bedale and Masham, leaving behind a substantial eighteenth-century residence with extensive gardens, greenhouses, stables, garages and several adjoining properties. The auction also included houses at 4 and 6 Thorngate and an unoccupied property in Bridge Inn Yard. Victor, already the owner of Blagraves, was one of those bidding when the sale took place on 25 September. The opening offer was £1,000, and by the third bid he had secured Thorngate House with adjoining cottages for £1,200.

The house still stands at number 8 Thorngate, with its large symmetrical stone front, steps and railings. During the eighteenth century it had been altered for Sir John Hullock, a judge who entertained fellow judges visiting Barnard Castle. It was quite a different property from Blagraves, with spacious accommodation and gardens stretching away behind the street. Victor soon began making changes of his own, and by 1930 his plans were being discussed at Barnard Castle Urban District Council.

He wanted to add a portico to the front of Thorngate House, but the council had not received the necessary plans. There was also a disagreement over an ornamental fountain, which Victor intended to have goldfish swimming in its base. He had arranged a supply of water without the required permission, and the council wanted the matter put through the proper procedure. The combination of a new portico, a fountain and goldfish was rather typical of the grand ideas Victor seems to have enjoyed, although the council was very concerned with the missing paperwork and water arrangements.

His plans for Thorngate House extended beyond its appearance. In 1932, during a council discussion about housing, Victor explained that he had considered converting the building into flats but needed to know what the rates assessment would be before proceeding. He argued that people couldn't invest sensibly in property without knowing the likely costs and returns. A few years later, in September 1936, he was advertising a Thorngate garage and adjoining house to let, with enquiries directed to him at Thorngate House. Advertisements from the property also offered antique furniture, including a Queen Anne chest of drawers, a bureau and a library table.

One of Victor's plans for the buildings behind Thorngate House had already become a reality by then, and it was to provide accommodation for people exploring Teesdale on foot.

A Shilling a Night for Walkers

The Youth Hostels Association was expanding during the early 1930s, providing affordable places to stay for people who wanted to travel and explore the countryside without spending a fortune. Barnard Castle was well placed for a hostel, with riverside paths and nearby villages all within reach of visitors using the town as a base.

In 1931, the Association rented the former laundry buildings behind Thorngate House from Victor. He had renovated the premises, which were adapted into sleeping accommodation with separate rooms for men and women, a common room, kitchen and washing facilities. There were hot showers and somewhere for visitors to prepare their own meals, while the overnight charge was advertised at just one shilling. The approach to the hostel was through the gardens of Thorngate House, and Mrs Pegman, who lived nearby at 6 Thorngate, became its warden.

The opening ceremony was reported in the Teesdale Mercury, with members of the Youth Hostels Association and local representatives attending. Victor was thanked for making the buildings available and preparing them for use. During the speeches he talked about welcoming visitors to Barnard Castle and making their stay enjoyable, even when the weather wasn't particularly good. His personal motto was also recorded: “Leave things better than he found them.”

The hostel operated behind Thorngate House until 1936, with replacement accommodation opening on Galgate in 1937. For those few years, people could arrive in Barnard Castle, cook their own supper, spend the night in the old laundry buildings and set off the following morning to enjoy Teesdale's walks. Behind the grand frontage of a house once used to entertain visiting judges, there was now a place for walkers travelling on a much smaller budget.

Victor's Plans for Barnard Castle

By the early 1930s, Victor was taking an active part in the affairs of Barnard Castle. In 1931, he was elected to the Urban District Council after putting forward a manifesto that included an ambitious proposal to develop the town's mineral-water springs and make Barnard Castle “one of the foremost Health Resorts”. Spa towns such as Harrogate and Buxton were already established destinations for people seeking mineral-water treatments, and Victor wanted Barnard Castle to attract visitors for similar reasons.

The idea had some local history behind it. During the nineteenth century, Barnard Castle had been promoted for its mineral waters and woodland walks, including the old Spa near the River Tees and the Red Well Spring near Harmire. Visitors had been encouraged to enjoy the springs, fresh air and countryside long before Victor arrived in the town. His proposal was to develop the mineral waters into something on a much larger scale, although Barnard Castle never became the fashionable spa resort he had imagined.

Housing and the cost of local rates also occupied his attention. During a council discussion in 1932, Victor argued that high rates could discourage people from investing in property or building new homes. He was appointed to a committee considering the town's housing needs alongside Councillors Singer and Deacon, and continued to take an interest in local development. By March 1934, he had been returned unopposed to the Urban District Council, publishing a notice thanking the people of Barnard Castle for their support and giving Thorngate House as his address.

Victor also became president of the Barnard Castle Publicity Society, which worked to attract more visitors and encourage people to spend time exploring the town and surrounding area. Its activities included guidebooks, publicity and arrangements for a film about Barnard Castle. The society discussed the town's appearance, accommodation and facilities for visitors, and Victor made Thorngate House available for committee meetings. The group faced the usual difficulties of finding money and encouraging businesses to support its work, but it continued promoting Barnard Castle to people beyond the local area.

For Victor, these activities ran alongside his existing businesses. He was still involved with Old Durham Gardens, had invested in two substantial Barnard Castle properties and was running an antiques business that attracted visitors through the doors of Blagraves. His council work and involvement with the Publicity Society brought him into regular contact with other people who were concerned about the town's future, although his ideas could be considerably more ambitious than the projects eventually undertaken.

Family Life at Blagraves and Thorngate House

Victor's first wife Annie died in Scarborough in 1934. They had been married for more than forty years, through his early work as a commercial traveller, his years painting in Cornwall, the growth of the confectionery business and his purchase of Old Durham Gardens and Blagraves.

In 1935, Victor married Mary Jane Cummings, who had previously worked as his housekeeper in Barnard Castle. They had known one another for some years, and passenger records show that they travelled to the United States together in 1927. Mary Jane had children from her earlier family, whose names later appeared in records connected with Thorngate House.

The large house continued to be used for family occasions. On 30 November 1938, the Teesdale Mercury reported a wedding reception held at Thorngate House, describing it as the home of Mr and Mrs V. Walton. Yet when the National Register was taken on 29 September 1939, Victor was recorded at 32 The Bank, Blagraves, with his wife Mary Jane and Laurence Cummings. Victor, then 75, gave his occupation as dealer in antiques, and the register recorded his exact date of birth as 10 July 1864.

Thorngate House continued to appear in the family's records during the war. In January 1941 RAF Sergeant Alan Cummings, the son of Mrs V. Walton, had been mentioned in despatches for meritorious service. His mother's address was given as Thorngate House. Alan had attended Barnard Castle Church of England School and later King James I Grammar School at Bishop Auckland before entering the RAF.

Both properties were part of the Walton family's life during these years. Blagraves was Victor's antiques business and the address recorded for him in 1939, while Thorngate House continued to be used for family occasions and accommodation. The two buildings stand only a short distance apart, although their history and appearances were very different.

When the House of Mystery Was Challenged

The stories surrounding Blagraves had continued to attract attention through the 1930s, but in October 1946 Victor found himself involved in a public disagreement about the building's history.

The Bowes Museum had been considering acquiring Blagraves for use as a local museum, and questions about the building's past were raised in the Teesdale Mercury. On 9 October, Barnard Castle solicitor J. Ingram Dawson challenged the supposed connection between Blagraves, Miles Forrest and the murder of the Princes in the Tower.

Dawson had examined the property in connection with an earlier museum proposal and was critical of the historical claims being made about it. He questioned the story that Richard III had given Blagraves to Forrest and objected to the way some of the building's architectural features and later additions were being presented. Victor defended his interpretation in the following week's newspaper.

The disagreement had been a long time coming. For more than twenty years, Victor had promoted Blagraves through its collection of antiques and unusual historical stories, and the house had attracted national publicity. Dawson's challenge concerned the difference between the genuine history of an old Barnard Castle building and the much more elaborate stories that had grown around it. The claimed royal gift to Miles Forrest, the supposed bloodstained document and the connection with the princes' deaths had no convincing documentary foundation.

Blagraves was already an important historic building without those stories. Its sixteenth and seventeenth-century rooms, older stonework and former use as an inn belonged to the history of Barnard Castle itself. Victor's alterations and his House of Mystery became another part of that history, dating from the years when the building was filled with antiques and visitors came to hear his accounts of the past.

His Final Years

By the late 1940s, the buildings Victor had owned in Barnard Castle were being used for different purposes. Blagraves was operating as a restaurant by March 1948, while an advertisement from the same year offered places at Thorngate House Private School under Miss E. R. Thompson. The school provided education for girls, accepted younger boys and offered private coaching.

Victor continued dealing in antiques outside Barnard Castle, and by the end of the decade he was working from an address in Durham. In 1949, he sold Old Durham Gardens, bringing to an end an ownership that had lasted more than thirty years. The gardens had continued operating as a place of entertainment during much of the period between the wars, but the popularity of the open-air dances had declined following the Second World War.

His interest in painting remained with him into old age. In 1951, Victor announced plans to retire from business and spoke of establishing a museum where his own paintings could be displayed. The following year, he travelled on a cruise around Africa, adding another journey to a life that had already taken him from Newcastle to Cornwall, through the confectionery trade and into the historic buildings of Barnard Castle.

Victor Mazzini Walton died in 1955, aged 90. His final residence was Killerby Hall near Scarborough, and his estate was valued at £23,836 19s 9d. His working life had covered several trades and businesses, from the apprenticeship he began as a teenager to the antiques dealing and property interests of his later years.

Blagraves, however, remained the building most closely connected with his name.

The Stories That Outlived Him

On Wednesday 10 April 1974, the Teesdale Mercury published an article headed “Quaint Blagroves Back in Business”. Neil and Josie Davidson had purchased the building from Colin Murray and were preparing to reopen it after a period when it had been closed to the public. Their plans included a coffee shop, an antiques business and the eventual opening of more of the historic rooms.

The newspaper looked back to Victor's time at Blagraves, remembering the museum he had established and the armour and stocks that had once been displayed. The old stories were still there too, including Oliver Cromwell, Miles Forrest, hidden passages and the supposed dungeons. Although Victor had been dead for almost twenty years, the tales he had helped popularise were still being told to people visiting the building.

The article also included a photograph of Paul and Karen Davidson holding decorative pieces that had previously stood on the frontage, including the head of a statue of Charles I. Blagraves had continued to change under successive owners, but some of the additions from its more theatrical years remained part of the building's appearance and history.

Today, Blagraves still stands on The Bank while Thorngate House remains at number 8 Thorngate. People walking past the two buildings might know something of their older history, but the years when both belonged to Victor Walton are less obvious. The former laundry buildings behind Thorngate House once welcomed walkers for a shilling a night, while the old rooms at Blagraves drew visitors who wanted to see his collection and hear the stories of Richard III.

Victor could be an ambitious businessman, an enthusiastic supporter of the town and a theatrical storyteller, sometimes all at once. He wasn't always right about the history he promoted, and some of his grander ideas never came to anything, but there was little ordinary about the life he led.

More than seventy years after his death, people are still discussing the mysteries he made famous at Blagraves. His own story, from the Newcastle boy who began work as a drysalter's apprentice to the man who owned two of Barnard Castle's historic houses, is every bit as interesting.

Explore More of Barnard Castle and Teesdale

There's plenty more to discover about the buildings, people and history of Barnard Castle. Our Barnard Castle town guide brings together places to visit, old streets, local history and walks around the town, while Discover Teesdale covers the wider dale, from its villages and waterfalls to the stories behind the landscape.

If you've enjoyed reading about Victor Walton, you might also like the stories of John Bowes, who helped create The Bowes Museum, Henry Witham, whose name is closely connected with The Witham, or Robert Taylor Richardson, the Barnard Castle solicitor whose home became part of the town's healthcare history. You can find their stories, along with many more local characters, in our People of Teesdale collection.