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Dunstanburgh Castle
Also known as, or recorded in historical
documents as; Dunstanborough; Dunstaburge
In the civil parish of Craster.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).
C14 castle situated on a coastal headland in Northumberland. The castle was built for Thomas, second Earl of Lancaster with the first phase of construction taking place between 1313-1325 (licence granted in 1315). The gatehouse was remodelled as the castle's keep in the late 1380's with a new gatehouse built. This remodelling was undertaken by Henry of Holme for John of Gaunt. The site of the castle encloses an area of 11 acres. Thomas of Lancaster's Gatehouse is situated at the south west corner backed by a small inner ward. John of Gaunt's Gatehouse is situated on the west curtain immediately beyond the inner ward, approached by a barbican with a mantlet wall running to an outer gate adjoining Lancaster's Gatehouse. Constable's Tower, the residence of the castle's commanding officer, lies midway along the south curtain. Behind the tower are a complex of buildings for his own use and that of his staff. At the south east corner is Egyncleugh Tower, an important tower which commanded the 'clough' under its east wall. Lilburn Tower stands at the north end of the west curtain. This was a watchtower and a residence for soldiers, with a postern at its foot. The castle was built from sandstone with a whinstone rubble core, except for limestone in the east curtain. Earl Thomas, who seems to have built the castle as a refuge rather than a residence, was executed in 1322 and the fortress passed into Royal hands. John of Gaunt as lieutenant of the Marches towards Scotland ordered the late C14 alterations. Before the alterations were complete the castle withstood a Scottish attack in 1384. Held for the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses, Dunstanburgh fell to the Earl of Warwick after a siege. In the Second World War a pillbox and foxhole was built and a corps of the Royal Armoured Corps who were installed amongst the ruins. Finds of Romano-British pottery indicates earlier occupation of the headland.
This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle.
The confidence
that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.
A Royal licence
to crenellate was
granted in 1315 Aug 28.
This site is a scheduled
monument protected by law.
This site is a
Grade 1 listed
building protected by law*. (Images
of England number 236942)
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU25742177
PastScape number;
8243
County Sites and Monuments Record number; N5872
- Web site links
- Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p125-7
Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p44-7
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge)
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p182-3
Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p54-6 [plan]
Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p257-9
Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p9, 10, 26, 29
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (New York) Vol2 p332
Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1982, The history of the King's Works, Vol4: 1485-1660 (part 2) (London) p179,181
Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p223-5
Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p135-41
Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p94-5
Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p642-3
Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p90-3
Evans, Herbert A., 1912, Castles of England and Wales (London) p358-63
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p384-6
Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p451-3
Bateson, Edward (ed), 1895, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol2 p196-216
Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p14, 167-94
Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p369-71
Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p407
White, W., 1859, Northumberland and the Border p229-32
Hartshorne, C.H., 1858, Feudal and Military Antiquities of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders (London: Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute at Newcastle) Vol2 p59-64
Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p219
Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p83-7
- Journal Articles
- Ashbe, Jeremy, 2006, 'Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and the Great Gatehouse of Dunstanburgh Castle' English Heritage Historical Review Vol1 p28-35
English Heritage, 2004, 'Survey unlocks Dunstanburgh's ancient and modern secrets' CSG Newsletter Vol6 Issue1 p5
King, Andy, 2001, 'Lordship, Castles and Locality: Thomas of Lancaster, Dunstanburgh Castle and the Lancastrian Affinity in Northumberland, 1296-1322' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol29 p223-34
Hislop, Malcolm, 1995, 'John of Gaunt's Building Works at Dunstanburgh Castle' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol23 p139-144
St Joseph, J.K., 1950, 'Castles of Northumberalnd from the air' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol28 p12-13
Simpson, 1949, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol27 p1-28
Simpson, 1938, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol16 p31-48
1936, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol13 p279-92
Hunter-Blair, 1925, Archaeological Journal Vol82 p250-1
Compton, C.H., 1903, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol9 p111-6 [history]
1897, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol8 p113-4
Bates, C.J., 1885-6, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol2 p73-83
Tate, 1869-72, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol6 p85-94 plates iii-v
- Guidebooks
- Ashbee, J. and Oswald, A., 2007, Dunstanburgh Castle (English Heritage) [forthcoming]
1994, Dunstanburgh Castle (English Heritage)
Hunter Blair, C.H., 1988. Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1986, Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland (English Heritage)
Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1982 [3edn], Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland (HMSO)
Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1982, Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland (HMSO)
Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1955, Dunstanburgh Castle (London)
Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1936, Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland (HMSO)
- Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents
- This section is far from complete and the secondary
sources should be consulted for full references.)
- 1584 Commissioners Report [Click here]
1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]
Calendar of Patent Rolls (1313-17) p344
- Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
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