Wark on Tyne Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Wark in Tyndale; Warke; Moat Hill; Turris de Werke in Tyndall

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

Remains of a motte and bailey castle at Moat Hill, dating to 1165, built on the site of a moot. Ratcliffe Manor House dated 1676 was later built on the site but only a doorway now survives, incorporated into a small outbuilding and inscribed with the date 1676. A pele tower is mentioned in documents of 1399 and 1415 but no trace of such a structure survives. The site is now occupied by farm buildings.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Pele Tower.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY86127680

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; 16444

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N7746

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N7746
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p356-7
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p103
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p200 [slight]
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p125-6
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p7, 11, 41
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p343
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1982, The history of the King's Works Vol4: 1485-1660 (part 2) (London) p688-694
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p335
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p167-8
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p852-3
    Pevsner, N., 1957, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin)
    Dodds, Madeleine Hope (ed), 1940, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol15 p37,282
    Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1902, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol6 p61-2
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p11, 18, 49
    Tomlinson, W.W. 1888. Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle) p204
    Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol12 p138
• Journal Articles
  • Brown, R.Allen, 1989, 'A list of Castles 1154-1216' in Brown, R.Allen, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p120
    Haigh, D. and Savage, M. 1984. 'Excavations at Sewingshields' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol12 p33-147
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p141-3
    1935-6, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Northumberland [ser4] Vol7 p99-100
    Ball, 1923, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol1 p60-3
    1858, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol3 p147
• 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]
    1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]