Hylton Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hilton

In the civil parish of Sunderland.
In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Sunderland, 1974 county of Tyne and Wear).

The remains of part of a fortified medieval manor house which was modified throughout C17 and C18. The only upstanding remains of the house are the gatehouse tower, a large tower house of circa 1400 built over the west gateway of the house. The gatehouse was built by Sir William Hylton, whose family had held the manor since at least 1157. The gatetower was primarily the residence of the barons Hylton throughout C15 and C16. It survives as a substantial rectangular building and was originally four-storeyed. The ground floor included a central gate-passage flanked by vaulted chambers. The first floor was occupied by the baron's hall and solar, and also a kitchen with an attached buttery and pantry. A second similar private chamber lay above, on the second floor, and a third existed above the oratory. A fourth lay above the service rooms, while a fifth and sixth occupied the next two floor levels. Around all but the north wall of the tower, the parapets round the roof and turrets are machicolated. Statues of men-at-arms stand on the battlements above the west front of the tower while below, on the face of the central turrets and the wall above the gate, is a rich display of medieval heraldic devices which, by their form, provide important evidence of when the tower was built. By 1700 the gatehouse became the basis for a large house, which was built in two phases between 1700 and 1746. A north wing was added between 1700 and 1712, and a matching south wing was constructed between 1712 and 1746. The north wing no longer survives as a standing feature and the south wing has three courses of ashlar sandstone blocks upstanding. The wings were demolished in the 1860s when the windows and entrance were 'medievalised' and the interior stripped of its C18 modifications to give the gatetower its present appearance. Hylton Castle stood guard over an important ferry crossing of the Wear.

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 391434)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ35785879

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; 26206

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 12

• Web site links
  • http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.131
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=160
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/88/hyltoncastle.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles and Tower Houses of County Durham (Malvern) p36-8
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p107-9
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p29-30
    1995, The Time Team Reports [Series 2] (Channel 4) p29-33
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p143-4
    Corfe, Tom (ed), 1992, 'The Visible Middle Ages' in An Historical Atlas of County Durhan p28-9
    Pevsner, N., 1983 (Revised by Williamson, Elizabeth), The Buildings of England: Durham (London, Penguin) p470-3
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p136
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p246
    Hugill, Robert, 1979, The Castles and Towers of the County of Durham (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p58-65
    Pevsner, N., 1953, The Buildings of England: Durham (London, Penguin) p174
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 343-6
    Boyle, J.R., 1892, Comprehensive Guide to the County of Durham: its Castles, Churches, and Manor-Houses (London) p546-52
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p282-97
    Sykes, J., 1866, Local Records of Northumberland and Durham Vol1 p220
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p206
    Surtees, R., 1816-40 [1972 Reprint], History and Antiquities of Durham (London) p20-4 and plate
    Brayley, E. and Britton, J., 1803, Beauties of England and Wales; Durham Vol5 p150-2
    Hutchinson, Wm, 1785-94, The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham Vol2 p638-40
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p84
• Journal Articles
  • Morley, B.M., 2003, ‘Excavation and Survey at Hylton Castle, Sunderland' Archaeological Journal Vol159
    Morley, B.M., 1976, ‘Hylton Castle' Archaeological Journal Vol133 p118-34, 237-8 [plans]
    1928, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol3 p234-9
    1888, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p86-90
    Cotton, 1873, Birmingham and Midland Institute p34-7
    Dyer, 1876, Archaeologia Aeliana Vol7 p143-70
• Guidebooks
  • Morley, B.M., 1979, Hylton Castle, Tyne and Wear (HMSO)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/durhameng.html#durham15]