Morpeth Castle

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

The castle was built between 1342-1349 under the aegis of William de Greystock, and was probably destroyed in the siege of 1644. Standing remains comprise part of the curtain wall and gatehouse. The Gateway was restored in C17 and between 1857-8. All the walls are in a poor state of repair. In 1990 the gatehouse was repaired. Archaeological investigation at this point showed that much of the gatehouse had been rebuilt in the late C17 or C18.

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.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 238706)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ20008547

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; 25334

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N11532

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N11532
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=192
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p213-6
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p80-1
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p121-2
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p190-1
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p90-2 [plan]
    Pevsner, N. (revised by John Grundy et al), 1992, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p396
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p5-7, 37, 66-7
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p337
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p262
    Clack, P. and Gosling, P., 1976 , Archaeology in the North p189-90
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p238-42
    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
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p161-3
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p3, 5-6, 11, 13, 26-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p202
    Gibson, W., 1845-54 (3rd series), Northumbrian Castles, Churches and Antiquities p123-6
    Hodgson, J.C., 1832, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) pt2 Vol2 p384-9
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p128-32
• Journal Articles
  • Ryder, P.F., 1992. 'The Gatehouse of Morpeth Castle' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol20 p63-77
    1969 July 5, Newcastle Journal p8
    1961, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol176 p109,132-3,135
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p150-2 [plan]
    Knowles, W.H., 1921. Archaeologia Aeliana [ser3] Vol9 p243-4
    Fergusson, 1903-5, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol19 p279-82
    1901-2, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol10 p238,240-2
    1889, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p167, 170-1
• Guidebooks
  • Tweddle, A.H., 1985, Town Trail for Morpethians (Morpeth Information Centre)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 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#nhumb20]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p342, 343
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol5 p63