Haw Hill, Morpeth

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ha' Hill

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

Remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle situated on a natural hill defending the crossing of the River Wansbeck and overlooking the town of Morpeth which both lie to the north. The motte and bailey were created by the artificial scraping of the north east end of a narrow ridge. The artificially enhanced motte measures 80m by 80m, and the natural mound on which it is constructed has maximum dimensions of 88m by 108m. Partial excavation in 1830 suggests that there was a stone keep on the motte in C12. The site of the bailey occupies the central part of the ridge to the west of the motte. The castle is believed to have been built by William de Merlay, who was granted the barony of Morpeth in about 1080. The earliest documentary freference to the castle is in 1095 when it was captured by William Rufus. It was burned by King John in 1216 and eventually replaced in C13 by a new castle to the south.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Earthworks remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ19978563

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; 23183

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N11068

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N11068
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p213-4
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p80
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p190-1
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p90
    Pevsner, N., 1992. The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London) p396-7
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p5-7, 65-6
    Tweddle, A.H. 1984. Town Trail for Morpethians, 3
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p338
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p249
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p240
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p136
    Sanders, I.J., 1960, English Baronies. A study of their origin and descent 1086-1327 p65
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p171
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Hodgson, J.C., 1832, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) pt2 Vol2 p25-26, 384
    Scott, W., 1814, Border Antiquites of England and Scotland p2
• Journal Articles
  • Quartermaine, J. and Bell, J., 2000, 'Haw Hill, Morpeth' Archaeology in Northumberland 1999-2000 p17
    1960, Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol23 p10
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p150-2 [plan]
    Murphy, 1903-5, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol19 p279