Duddo Tower

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Duddoo

In the civil parish of Duddo.
In the historic county of Durham; North (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

The ruins of a late C16 tower house, on site of earlier towerr, situated in a commanding position on top of crags immediately south of Duddo village. The south west corner and part of the south wall survive to a height of about 9m and are built of coursed, roughly sqaured stone. Large pieces of fallen masonry lie to the south east of the tower and are the remnants of a projecting turret. The outlines of the remaining sides of the tower are difficult to see but measure 12m by 10m. The first known documentary reference to a tower at Duddo was when it was destroyed by James IV of Scotland in 1496. A part of this tower remained standing in 1541 and was described with a barmkin around it in 1561.

This site has been described as a;
Pele Tower.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 238022)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NT93824259

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; 4098

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N2339

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N2339
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/74/duddotower.htm
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p45-6
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p43
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p200 [slight]
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p11, 21
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p134
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p93-4
    Pevsner, N., 1957. The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p139
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p89-90
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p383-4
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p38, 53, 409
    Raine, J., 1852, History and Antiquities of North Durham (London) p316-17
• Journal Articles
  • 1932-4, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol28 p20-1
    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 p12
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1561 Survey book of Norham and Islandshire [Click here]
    1541 Survey of the East and Middle Marches [Click here]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Ryder, P.F., 1995. Towers and Bastles in Northumberland, Part 2 Berwick district p13-14