Ritton White House

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; West Ritton; Westryghton; Rytton

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

Possible remains of stone house and small barmkin recorded in 1541 as previously belonging to the, then suppressed, monastery of Newminster and scarcely in good repair. According to Dodds there is no sign of this despite being marked on OS map. King appears to list this site twice, once as Ritton and then as West Ritton. SMR report reads 'A group of C19 planned farm buildings stand at this site. At one end of the range one of the structures appears to be older. It may be the remains of a C16 or C17 bastle.' PastScape record reads 'Possible remains of a pele built between 1467-1500, now incoporated into a farm building at Ritton White House. Three walls of the bastle survive, the west wall containing a fireplace at first floor level.'

This site has been described as a;
Bastle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Uncertain remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ05509442

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; 21405

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N10815

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N10815
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p197
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p11, 50
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p352 [vanished], 356 [possible]
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p306
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p150
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p46
• 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]