For more than 600 years, The Old Rectory has been at the centre of life in Houghton-le-Spring and many people pass by the building on their way about town.

In 1949, the gardens surrounding the building became a public park after being given to the people of Houghton and likewise, there is much support for these outdoor spaces from our “Bloomin’ Marvellous” gardening group.

Since 2017, the Acumen Community Buildings Charity has maintained the building – providing a space for community groups and social entrepreneurs to work together to create a vibrant hub and co-working space.

We work with groups throughout the local community offering a youth club, HAF programmes, IT club, Gardening,etc. We also share our building with smaller social enterprise companies to enable them to engage with the groups they work with.