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Bishop Middleham Castle
In the civil parish of Bishop Middleham.
In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Durham, 1974 county of County Durham).
'The site of the castle of Middleham is on a bold promontory approximately in the shape of an isosceles triangle, projecting south from the high ridge on which the church is built. Little traces of scarping except perhaps on the south where, at the foot of the slope, a ditch runs east and west. The lines of the walls of a large building show in the turf at the south end of the site, and here and there the masonry is exposed. The position is a strong one, the only easy approach being from the north. The Castle of Middleham, a strong, well-guarded manor house, was a principal residence of the Bishops of Durham from the Conquest to the end of C14. At the time of Hatfield's Survey (1349-50) the demesne was on lease.
This site has been described as a;
Fortified Manor House
Palace.
The confidence
that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Cropmarks/slight earthworks remains.
This site is a scheduled
monument protected by law.
The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ32743104
PastScape number;
26021
County Sites and Monuments Record number; D1117
- Web site links
- Books
- Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles and Tower Houses of County Durham (Malvern) p18
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p116, 174
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p51-4
Jackson, M.J., 1996, Castles of Durham and Cleveland (Carlise) p16-7
Corfe, Tom (ed), 1992, 'The Visible Middle Ages' in An Historical Atlas of County Durhan p28-9
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p134
Curtis, M., 1928, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Durham Vol3 (London) p204
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Gould, Chalkley, 1905, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Durham Vol1 p357
Whellan, F., 1894 (2edn), History, Topography and Directory of the County of Durham p243-4
Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p165-8
Surtees, R., 1816 [1972 Reprint], History and Antiquities of Durham (London) Vol3 p1-4
Hutchinson, Wm, 1785-94, The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham Vol3 p93-4
- Journal Articles
- 1972, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol185 p189
1901-2, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol10 p89-91
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