Bellister Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Bellester

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

PastScape report reads " Three storey, castellated house built in 1669 with a ruined tower house attached to the north west. The ruined structure was possibly built as hall house in C13, with a tower added to the west in C14. It was altered circa 1600. C17 house was altered circa 1826 and 1890 and partly rebuilt 1901-5 following a fire. The course of a moat is visible as an earthwork." Jackson writes this is an C15 L-shaped tower house attached to an early C19 castellated house on a large oval motte (61m x 46m at base, 46m x 31m at summit) surrounded by a ditch (1m-2m deep, 6m wide). Motte thought to date from C12. A survey of 1541 writes “At Bellester is a bastell house in thoccupanc'n of one Blenkinsoppe & is in measurable good rep'ac'ons.” Here the term 'bastell house' appears to have attached to a tower house, which does demonstrate, as expressed by Philip Dixon, that originally Bastle house was a term used for high quality buildings.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
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 240693)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY70066297

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; 15484

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N6685

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N6685
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=24
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p381
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p23
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p48
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p175
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p25
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p166
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p11, 48
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p327
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p57-8
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p61
    Pevsner, N., 1957. The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p85
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p41-2
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p368
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p170
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p48
    Hodgson, J.C., 1828, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) pt3 Vol2 p217
    Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol12 p113
• Journal Articles
  • Ryder, P.F., 2000, 'Bellister Castle 1999' Archaeology in Northumberland 1999-2000 p29
    7-1-1990, Northumberland Gazette
    21-1-76, Newcastle Journal p3
    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 p8
    1890, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p545-6
• 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]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb2]
• Other sources and unpublished works (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Ryder, P.F., 1995. Towers and Bastles in Northumberland, Part 4 Tynedale District Vol1 p65-6