Bothal Castle

Bothal Castle stands by the River Wansbeck in the village of Bothal, between Morpeth and Ashington in Northumberland (gbmapping|NZ240866). It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building.

It is possibly the site of a Norman castle.

In the 14th century a manor house was built on the site and a licence to crenellate was granted to Sir Robert Bertram in 1343. The gate tower and fragments of curtain wall are medieval, a good deal of which survive.The estate passed to the Ogle family by marriage in the 14th century and in 1597 similarly passed to the Cavendish family ( later Dukes of Portland) whose descendants still own it.

The rest of the castle was built within the last sixty years. The castle is now in an excellent state of repair and is used as a private residence.

References

*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, "The David & Charles Book of Castles", David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3

External links

* [http://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/BothalCastle.html Images of Bothal Castle and Village]
* [http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N11538 Keys to the Past]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/English%20sites/2864.html Bothal Castle]