The Gatehouse website record for Ravensworth Castle, Yorkshire

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ravenswathe; Kirkby Ravensworth; Ravenswath

In the civil parish of Ravensworth. In the historic county of Yorkshire North Riding (Modern Authority of North Yorkshire, 1974 county of North Yorkshire).

Ruined castle and park wall. Late C14. For Henry, Lord Fitzhugh. Walls of sandstone rubble, mainly faced with square-cut ashlar. 3-storey tower attached to main gateway in north-east corner; foundations of curtain wall with fragments of 2 towers to south-west and south-east; part of belfry tower, formerly attached to chapel; central rectangular range of less architectural pretension, probably stables. Gateway: depressed continuously-moulded 2-centred-arched opening, of 2 orders, the outer one chamfered, the inner one convex, with hoodmould with small head stops, and on the inside a portcullis slot. Attached to the north-east, a 3-storey ashlar tower, with offset plinths, and double buttress to northern corner; on the north-western side, on each floor a cruciform loophole; on the north- eastern side a single-light window on each floor and an incomplete garderobe tower to the eastern corner; on the south-eastern side, shouldered doorways with convex chamfer on ground floor to left and first floor to right, the latter formerly with an external staircase; to its left a trefoiled single- light window to straight-flight mural staircase leading to second floor, which has a window of 2 trefoiled lights under monolithic lintel; turret to right above staircase up to roof walk. Belfry: ashlar; parts of 2 walls standing almost to full height of a very tall and narrow tower, with a Latin inscription below the second-floor string course, and with a very tall chamfered segmental-pointed arched doorway to north. The stable block has a complete 2-storey gable to north west, with a central doorway. The Park Wall, constructed around the medieval hunting park by licence in 1391, survives almost intact, partly rebuilt but in many stretches clearly surviving in medieval form, of tapering section, constructed of large roughly-squared stones, standing approximately 2 metres high. Interior of gate tower: on ground floor, across the northern corner, the remains of a fireplace; on first floor, a chamfered shouldered fireplace in the north- western side; on second floor, across the northern corner a fireplace, the lintel on corbels framing a coat of arms; the beam slots for the first and second floors run in opposite directions; first-floor doorway into room from outside staircase has rebate for door to open into. The Castle and outlying earthworks are scheduled as an Ancient Monument. (Images of England)
Significant parts of the standing remains, including the gate tower are now at risk. Condition: Poor (Heritage at Risk 2008)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ142076

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 21560
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is MNY20685 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.