Chipchase Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Chollerton Castle; Chipchesse; Chipchace; Chypchase; Chipches

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

Fine Tower House of mid C14 with later mansion alongside. This replaced a now vanished late C12 tower. The stone-built tower is 4 storeyed, with a vaulted basement and watch towers at each corner, joined by a parapet walk.

This site has been described as a;
Tower House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 239570)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY88237573

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; 16538

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N7768

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N7768
    http://www.hadrianswallcountry.org/castles.asp?id=22
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p349-51
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p36
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p68-70
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p179-80
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p49
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p9, 11, 43, 44
    Miket, R. and Burgess, C. (eds), 1984, Between and Beyond the Walls (Edinburgh) p381
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p330
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p208-9
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p105-9
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p38,83-4
    Pevsner, N., 1957. The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p126-7
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p192-4
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p70-2
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p373-4
    Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1897, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol4 p333-9
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p206-8
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p18, 27, 410-16
• Journal Articles
  • Leach, P., 1976, ‘Chipchase Castle’ Archaeological Journal Vol133 p177, 179
    1962, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol62 p254
    Nares, G., 1956 June, Country Life Vol119 p1292-5, 1362-5
    Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser3] Vol13 p6-7
    1910, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol118 p69,314
    Knowles, W.H., 1903, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle [ser3] Vol1 p32-4
    1893, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol6 p64-5
    Hall, 1873-6, Transactions of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland Vol5 p295-306
• Guidebooks
  • Percy Hedley, W., n.d. c.1970, An Account of Chipchase Castle
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1541 Survey of the East and Middle Marches [Click here]
    1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb10]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p342