Yorkshire Castles

The principle hunting lodge of the ancient Forest of Barden and home of the 10th Lord of Skipton, more commonly known as the Shepherd Lord.

The ruined tower overlooks the Priest's House, built in the early 16th century which the Shepherd Lord built for his private Chaplain.

The building has undergone many alterations and served many purposes including farm house. Today visitors are welcome to wander round the ruined Barden Tower and enjoy a meal at the Priest House now a very popular restaurant.

Beverley, once a prosperous medieval town due to its wool trade has no walls. It is protected by a ditch, palisade and four gates. Beverley had four main gates or bars to which, in the 15th Century, were added a number of smaller bars and turnstiles the only remaining gate is North Bar

North Bar guarded the approach to Beverley from the North from Molescroft, along what is now Molescroft Road. As one gets closer to the North Bar the road becomes New Walk and finally North Bar Without. Going through the Bar, one enters North Bar Within, The gates of North Bar are still installed and until fairly recently, they used to be closed annually once a year.

It has been stated that some 112,300 bricks were used in its construction at a cost of 3s 7d (approx. 18p) a thousand. A bricklayer was paid 6d per day and a labourer 4d per day. The decorative cornice above the entrance was formed by laying a course of bricks diagonally between two projecting courses of bricks.

The other three bars,at Newbegin Bar, Keldgate (or South Bar), and Norwood Bar, respectively.

Overlooking the River Wharfe are the ruins of the 12th century Priory and the thriving parish church. With seating both in and around the Priory Church, this is the perfect location to sit back, admire the view and escape the 21st century.The land at Bolton was granted to the Augustinian Canons in 1154 by Lady Alice de Rumilly.

After the dissolution of the monastries in 1539 the nave of the Priory was allowed to continue as a parish church. All the other priory buildings were stripped of their lead roofs, leaving the stone work exposed to the elements. Over time the stone structures weakened and began to fall down. Rather than leaving good stone to go to waste is was pillaged and today can be found in buildings up and down the Wharfe valley.

Bolton Castle is a spectacular mediaeval fortress, situated in the heart of the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, on the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It was built in 1399 by Richard le Scrope, 1st Lord Scrope of Bolton and Lord Chancellor of England.

The plan of the castle is a quadrangle with accommodation along each side and a tower at each corner. There is only one entry into the courtyard, and that is through a vaulted passage with a portcullis at each end. Inside the courtyard are five identical doorways, each protected by its own portcullis, effectively trapping any attackers who made it into the courtyard.

Bowes Castle was built a spart of Yorkshires Norman fortification it is thought to have been built by Alan, Earl of Richmond, soon after the Norman conquest of 1066 on the site of the old Roman fort, a date of 1087 indicating how strategic the location was to the Norman conquerors.

Bowes is on the Roman road through Stainmore which led to Cataractonium on the other side of the pennines and it appears as though the castle was constructed on the foundations of the Lavatrae Roman Fort. The present ruins of the castle are fifty-three feet in height, the remains being of the keep, surrounded on two sides by the remains of an original inner moat.

If first impressions hold any credence at all, sight of the magnificent gatehouse at Burton Agnes Hall does not fail to fulfil the expectations of splendour that await the unsuspecting visitor. This is a grand Elizabethan house, full of treasures both old and modern, legends and stories wrapped in its walls, gardens full of interest and surprises, and a history going back to Norman times.

In 1601-1610, it was one of the last major houses built by the celebrated Elizabethan architect, Sir Robert Smythson. Symmetrical in red brick with stone dressings.

Situated on the north east coast of Yorkshire, some six miles inland of Bridlington, the bracing climate at Burton Agnes Hall has been cleverly tamed within spectacular walled gardens. Along with the herbaceous borders, the scented garden and the jungle garden, all ages will delight in the giant outdoor board games to be found sheltering between the plants.

Castle Hill is a Scheduled Ancient Monument situated on a hilltop overlooking Huddersfield, in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees. It has been settled for at least 4,000 years. Experts regard it as one of Yorkshire's most important early Iron Age hill forts.
The summit of Castle Hill is by far the most conspicuous landmark in Huddersfield. The Hill has been a place of recreation for hundreds of years and the easily discernable remains of past occupation have made it a subject for legend, speculation and scientific study.
The hill owes its shape to an outlying cap of hard Grenoside sandstone, which has protected the softer stone beneath from erosion. The first people to set eyes on Castle Hill were probably hunters and gatherers of the Mesolithic age, camping amongst the forests which at that time covered the land. In the Neolithic and Bronze Age, there appears to have been widespread travel or trade along the river valleys connecting the Yorkshire Wolds, the Peak District and the Mersey and Ribble estuaries.

"Castle Howard is one of Britain's finest historic houses and is still home to my family whose forebears conceived, designed, and built it over three centuries ago.

The construction of Castle Howard took more than 100 years before it could be said to have been finally completed, and spanned the lifetime of three earls and numerous architects and craftsmen. As the house was built and decorated so the grounds were filled with lakes, temples, monuments and a grand mausoleum. A thriving estate grew up encompassing several villages and acres of farmland.

The most famous Roman site in the Moors is the Cawthorn military complex. Recently work has been underway to re-interpret Cawthorn. Long considered a group of practise camps, it is now clear that the well-preserved earthwork remains include two forts, one with an annexe, together with a temporary camp built to a very odd plan. This site really comes to life as you walk around the Cawthorn Trail.

Although long assumed to be so, experts now consider that the well-known Wheeldale Road may not in fact date to the Roman period. It was perhaps built late in the occupation, at a time when normal standards were not applied and thus it appears ‘less Roman’ in character.

Cawthorn ‘Camps’ and Wheeldale Road are both open to the public. The best preserved Roman Signal Station can be viewed within the grounds of Scarborough Castle.

As one of the most important cities in England, and an important base for holding and administering the north, York was the site for two of the castles William the Conqueror built in the years immediately following his conquest.
This great tower, perched high on a Norman motte, remains a solemn reminder of York's troubled past. In 1068, William the Conqueror constructed a large mound (motte) on the banks of the River Ouse and built a wooden castle at the top. Just over 100 years later, amid the riots in York when a group of Jews took refuge in the tower, it was burned to the ground. Something of a gruesome legend exists about this incident. Apparently, the reddish vein running through the brickwork on the outside of the tower, was 'dyed' by the blood of the Jewish victims as they were mercilessly slaughtered.
A second timber construction was erected but, early in the 13th century, this tower was blown down by a devastating gale. In 1245 Henry III ordered the tower to be rebuilt and strengthened. Consequently, a quatrefoil tower of four overlapping circles - resembling a four-leafed clover - was built, as well as a curtain wall with semi-circular towers, and two gateways built around the bailey of York Castle. The stone building was completed in 1313, but less than fifty years later the castle cracked from top to bottom when part of the mound subsided into the moat. In 1322, Roger de Clifford was hanged by chains from the wall of the tower for opposing Edward II, and after that the keep was known as 'Clifford's Tower'.

The remains of the 12th century castle are dominated by the 100 ft high circular keep, which is supported by six buttresses. In the mid-1990s, the keep was restored, with a wooden roof and two floors rebuilt.

The castle was probably built by Hamelin de Warenne on the site of an earlier Norman castle. The building is considered one of South Yorkshire's primary tourist attractions, and sees in excess of 30,000 visitors per year. It is managed by The Ivanhoe Trust under a unique management agreement between English Heritage and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, who own the land. The Trust exists to maximise the use of the site as an educational resource and tourist attraction.

The name Conisbrough is thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Cyningesburh - meaning 'the defended burh of the King', suggesting the area once belonged to one of the Anglo-Saxon kings, prior to the Norman Conquest. At the time of the Norman Conquest the manor of Conisbrough was held by King Harold

The first castle was built in the 11th century on high ground at Castleton by the de Brus family who also built Skelton Castle. Stone from the first Danby Castle was used at the beginning of the 14th Century to construct the present palatial castle which dominates the Esk Valley. It was unusual in having a projecting tower in each corner. A unique 14th Century castle standing on a spur of Danby High Moor and commanding extensive views over the Esk valley.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, Danby was part of the Saxon estate of Crumberclive. The estate was given to the Fitz Baldric Family who may have built the first castle in the area, at Castleton west of Danby. The Fitz Baldrics lost their land when they rebelled against the king and it passed on to the Brus or Bruce family who rebuilt the earth and timber castle in stone. Robert de Brus founded Guisborough Priory in 1119. In 1272 the Brus family died childless, and the Estate passed to the Thwengs, and then to the Latimers, whose Arms appear on the North Front of Danby Castle.

Danes’ Dyke consists of prehistoric earthworks, possibly intended as a defence, and woodland that runs 2½ miles across Flamborough Head. Despite its name, Danes’ Dyke had nothing to do with the Danes, and was a much earlier site - probably dating back to the Bronze Age. Indeed the site was excavated by Major-General Augustus Pitt-Rivers in 1879 and Bronze Age arrowheads were found. Today, the area attracts many resident breeding and wintering birds, and is an excellent site for bird watchers at migration times.

The earthwork acts as a western boundary, isolating almost 13km2 of headland, which is otherwise defined by high, vertical chalk cliffs, except for the two small coves of North Landing and South Landing. It effectively cuts off the peninsula,turning it into a fortified area, which would have contained all the resources needed to support a sizeable population

Gilling Castle near Gilling East, North Yorkshire is a fortified tower house built in the early 14th century, possibly on the site of an early Norman castle.

This was then extended in the 16th and 18th centuries.
Now used by Ampleforth School.
The castle was originally the home of the Etton family, who appeared there at the end of the 12th century. It was Thomas de Etton who built the fortified manor house in the 14th Century - a large tower almost square, whose basement still forms the core of the present building.

Hazelwood Castle is a magnificent old castellated edifice, charmingly situated on an eminence, and famed for the extent and richness of its prospects. The front of the mansion consists of a centre and two wings, and the entrance is approached by a flight of 17 stone steps. The entrance hall is 50 feet by 30 feet. Round the walls a beautiful frieze is supported by fine fluted columns, and above the frieze are shields emblazoned with the family arms. The ceilings of the principal rooms are exceedingly rich in gilding and decoration. The castle is about three miles S.W. of Tadcaster.

The recorded history of Hazlewood Castle starts with the Domesday Book carried out for King William. The entry is for Sir Mauger the Vavasour residing in the Hall of a Thane at Hazlewood.

Harewood House, home to the Queen's cousin, the Earl of Harewood, provides a wonderful day out for all the family.

The House, with its outstanding art collections, splendid State Rooms and fascinating 'Below Stairs' exhibition, is set in spectacular grounds, which include formal gardens and gentle woodland walks. A visit to Harewood offers the opportunity to marvel at the collections in the House, explore the Gardens and Bird Garden, take a boat trip across the lake, (subject to availability), while youngsters can enjoy the challenge and excitement of the Adventure Playground!

Surrounded by spectacular banks and ditches, the great medieval castle’s impressive ruins stand beside the attractive market town of Helmsley. The fortress was probably begun after 1120 by Walter Espec – ‘Walter the Woodpecker’. Renowned for piety as well as soldiering, this Norman baron of ‘gigantic stature’ also founded nearby Rievaulx Abbey and Kirkham Priory,

Most of Helmsley’s surviving stonework defences were raised during the late 12th and 13th centuries, by the crusader Robert de Roos and his descendants. They include a pair of immensely strong ‘barbican’ entrances and the high, keep like east tower, unusually D-shaped in plan, which still dominates the town.

Hornby Castle is a commanding structure, dominating the landscape from its lofty position above the River Wenning where the house has a 16th Century tower. The present building was re-modelled to designs by Edmund Sharpe and E G Paley in the 1850s and later altered by Paley and Austin towards the end of the 19th Century. In the mid 17th Century the castle fell to Colonel Ralph Assheton, the leader of the Parliamentary forces in North Lancashire and it was ordered that the castle be destroyed or rendered unusable. The order was not carried out and we have the good fortune to be able to enjoy this Grade I Listed Building to this day. The castle is a private residence and is not open to the public. However, a good viewing point for the castle and the River Wenning is from the bridge on the Main Street

A stronghold of Medieval Kings, Knaresborough Castle still stands towering over the River Nidd. It was built around 1100 by a Norman baron on a cliff above the River Nidd.
In the 1170s Hugh de Moreville and his followers took refuge there after assassinating Thomas Beckett.
The castle was later rebuilt between 1301-1307 by Edward I and later completed by Edward II. The castle was taken by Parliamentarian troops in 1644 during the Civil War, and largely destroyed in 1648 not as the result of warfare, but because of an order from Parliament to dismantle all Royalist castles.
The King's Tower was the site of Royal visitors and is the glory of the Castle to this day. It also houses the dungeon where you can find out for yourself how it felt to be at the King's mercy.
The Courthouse Museum is housed in the Castle's oldest building where you can learn about Knaresborough's royal residents, infamous locals and more!