Structure Name: Belsay Castle

Description:
 

Fourteenth century, three storey tower house with an adjoining seventeenth century, two storey manor house to the west.

The tower is a rectangular stone building with two short wing like projections at the south west and north west corners. The tower is surmounted battlements and four rounded corner turrets.

The house today stands roofless.
 

Extant: Yes

Legal Status: Listed Building Grade I, Scheduled Ancient Monument

Location: Belsay Castle, NORTHUMBERLAND

Eastings: 408480m (view map)

Northings: 578550m (view map)

Position Accuracy: 50m

Positional Confidence: Absolute Certainty

Structure Types Identified: COAT OF ARMS, HALL HOUSE, MANOR HOUSE, PLAQUE, TOWER HOUSE

Historical Background
 

The changing faces of Belsay Castle provide a neat illustration of the turbulent history of the border region. The oldest part of the building is a large defensive tower, built during a period of turbulent border warfare in this area in the late fourteenth century. The seventeenth century manor house is one of the earliest undefended manor houses in Northumberland and reflects the more settled conditions following the Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.
 

Chronology:

• 1370   Belsay Castle constructed.
• 1614   Belsay Old Hall constructed by Thomas and Dorothy Middleton.
      Entities Involved:
            Middleton, Thomas: Owner.
            Middleton, Dorothy: Owner.
• 1711   West wing added to the manor house.
• 19TH CENTURY AD   Numerous minor alterations to Belsay Castle.
• 1872   Remains of the west wing of the manor house demolished and the remainder of the house considerably altered for Sir Arthur Monck.
      Entities Involved:
            Sir Arthur Monck: Owner.
            Ross & Lamb: Architects in charge of alteration work.
• 1897   Tower restored and re-roofed.
      Entities Involved:
            Ferguson, Charles John: Architect in charge of the restoration work.

References:

• Images of England
• Keys To The Past
• Northumberland SMR
• Pevsner, N., Richmond, I., Grundy, J., McCombie, G., Ryder, P. and Welfare, H. (2001) The Buildings of England: Northumberland. London, Penguin Books, pp.166-167

The information displayed in this page has been derived from authoritative sources, including any referenced above. Although substantial efforts were made to verify this information, the SINE project cannot guarantee its correctness or completeness.

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