Lions lived in grounds of castle

LAMBTON Castle, the family’s ancestral seat, is steeped in history.

In 1800 the first Lord of Durham commissioned the building of the structure which was built around the existing Harraton Hall, an 18th Century mansion.

The Lord – also known as "Radical Jack" and a son-in-law of Earl Grey – wanted the property to be in the style of a Norman Castle.

The family lived in the property but there was a problem with subsidence, ironically caused by the mineworking in the area on which the family fortune was built. It was rebuilt in the 1860.

In 1930 the family moved out of the property following further issues with subsidence and it fell into disrepair.

In 1972, Lambton Lion Park opened on the estate. It closed in the early 1980s due to lack of funds and problems with escaping animals.

Mr Duff said: "The county council took it over as a teacher training centre for a while then in the seventies the estate was ran as a safari park.

"There are wonderful stories about baboons on the A1 and hippopotamus in Chester-le-Street.

"People still talk about the safari park now with the giraffe house and the bear pit.

"A lot of people came to the estate back then and they still think of it like that today."