Horton Castle, Blyth

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Low Horton; Horton next the Sea; Horton juxta mare

In the civil parish of Blyth Valley.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Fortified Manor House, licence to crenellate of 1292 granted to Sir Guischard de Charron, latterly a Delaval possesion, dismantled in 1809. The course of a moat can be traced. Called pelum in 1317-18 and fortalicium in 1415 (The licence means this was a stone building, is this an early C14 use of pele to mean a stone building? Most early uses of pele tend to mean timber buildings and it's use for small tower houses is supposed to be modern, although the term 'pelehouse' for bastles is used C16.)

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1292 Dec 28.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ28077969

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 25178

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N11467

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N11467
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing)
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p77
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p84-5
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p10, 72
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p350
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p214
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p123-4
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Craster, H.H.E. (ed), 1909, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol9 p257-8
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p68
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p396
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p8, 14
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p403
    Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol12 p97
• Journal Articles
  • 1961, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol176 p136,150
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1292-1301) p2