Houses and gardens in Hummersknott
Hummersknott is closely linked to its neighbour Mowden, and is usually thought of as the streets around Hummersknott School on Edinburgh Drive, stretching up to Carmel Road North. The area also has a Victorian cemetery and Carmel RC College with its sixth form. At the 2011 Census the ward had 3,478 residents.
The 2021 Census shows how spacious it is. In the Hummersknott ward, 52.3% of households live in a detached house and 34.4% in a semi; terraces are rare at 3.0%, and 9.7% live in flats. Street names such as Edinburgh Drive, Holyrood Avenue, Dalkeith Close and Carisbrooke Walk give a sense of the post-war estate planning, with houses set on regular plots behind front lawns.
Older buildings survive on the fringes. Listing data records several within about a kilometre, among them St Clare's Abbey chapel and Hillclose Farm House, both Grade II*, plus Carmel House Convent, Danesmoor and Tees Bank House at Grade II.
For a patio, a detached post-war house usually means a wide back garden, a patio that was laid decades ago in small concrete slabs, and owners who want a larger, flatter terrace with room for a table, a seating area and perhaps a low wall with planting. South-facing gardens often get a second, smaller patio at the far end to follow the evening sun. Families with older children often ask for a hard-wearing area large enough for a table and a barbecue, kept clear of the lawn so that it stays usable through a wet winter.
The ground under Hummersknott
The British Geological Survey maps Hummersknott on hummocky glacial deposits, gravel, sand and silt left in mounds by melting ice, over mudstone of the Edlington Formation. These deposits are more mixed than the flat clay of eastern Darlington: one garden can have sandy, free-draining ground at one end and silty, slower-draining ground at the other, and the surface can undulate.
We check what is underneath as we dig. Sandy pockets are compacted and capped with crushed stone; silty, soft areas are dug out further and replaced. The undulating ground often means a patio needs a step or a short retaining wall, especially where the garden falls away from the house. Falls are set to carry water off the patio towards the lawn or a drain.
The Environment Agency does not show Hummersknott in Flood Zone 2 or 3, though Flood Zone 3 appears within 750 metres on lower ground. Surface water in heavy rain can still collect where the ground dips, which is why the levels matter.
Planning checks for Hummersknott
Most of Hummersknott lies outside any conservation area, and our checks found no Article 4 direction over the estate. The West End Conservation Area, designated in 1975 and enlarged since, runs to Carmel Road on its western side, so homes on the eastern fringe may be close to it.
A back-garden patio at ground level is normally permitted development. A platform raised more than 30cm above ground needs planning permission, which can come into play on sloping or hummocky plots, and front-garden paving over five square metres must be permeable or drain to a soft area. If a large tree near your patio has a tree preservation order, the council must agree any work to it.
Budget factors
We work out a figure once we have seen your garden. For Hummersknott, the usual factors are:
- Width. Detached houses often suit a patio across the whole rear elevation.
- Levels. Hummocky ground can need steps or a retaining wall.
- Mixed ground. Soft pockets mean extra digging and stone.
- Material. Porcelain and sandstone cost more to buy and cut than slabs.
- Old patio. Small concrete slabs and their bed have to come out.
- Extras. Walls, planters, edging and drainage.
Also near Hummersknott
- Patios in Mowden: North: semis and detached homes around Bushel Hill Park.
- Patios in Blackwell: South-east: 1930s houses near the Tees and the West End Conservation Area.
- Patios in Cockerton: North-east: a conservation-area village green and surrounding terraces.
Further reading for Hummersknott patios: porcelain patios, garden walls, indian sandstone patios.
All places we cover: areas page.
Hummersknott: common patio questions
Why does my old Hummersknott patio rock in places?
Usually because it was laid on thin sand over mixed ground that has settled unevenly. A new patio on a dug-out, compacted stone base solves it.
Do I need permission for a patio in Hummersknott?
Not normally for a ground-level back-garden patio. Raised platforms over 30cm and large non-permeable front-garden paving need permission.
Is porcelain a good choice for a detached post-war house?
It is durable, easy to clean and suits clean brick elevations. It needs a firm, level base and careful cutting.
Can the patio include a low wall or planter?
Yes. Low walls in brick or block, rendered or faced, are a common way to edge a patio and handle a change in level.
Sources: Wikipedia: Hummersknott; ONS Census 2021 TS044, Hummersknott ward (Nomis); planning.data.gov.uk: listed buildings; Darlington Borough Council: West End Conservation Area appraisal (2010); BGS Geology Viewer; Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning.