The following pages merely give brief details of some of the major Blackett properties. There are several sources available that contain more information, one of which is the superbly written and beautifully illustrated book by A.W. Purdue “The Ship That Came Home”, published by Third Millenium Publishing Limited. This history of the Blackett dynasty covers the major mansions and estates of the family from the 17th century to the present day, as well as many anecdotes about the Blacketts themselves. Copies are still available from a variety of sources, possibly including the gift shop at the Matfen Hall website.
In addition, many of the buildings designed by Edmund Thomas Blacket, the eminent New South Wales architect, are listed in Appendix D of Nick Vine Hall’s book My Name is Blacket, sadly now out of print but still available from some libraries.
There are a number of locations and properties in Scotland with the name Blacket in their title, including Blacket House/Blacket Tower in Dumfriesshire, and a district of Edinburgh is known as Blacket. In Scotland the name Blacket is thought to derive from the Lowland Scots for a black wood and therefore has no connection with the Blacketts of north-east England, whose name derives from the Middle English “Blakheved”, meaning black head.
Due to the large amount of content in this section, please click on the headers below to view more information about them.
Tommy Blackett's Cottage, Hamsterley
Grey Friars/Anderson Place and Blackett Street, Newcastle
Whitfield Hall and Helbeck Hall