Dilston Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Dyvelston; Divelston; Devilstone; Devilswater

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

Tower house, probably built by Sir William Claxton in the early C15 and enlarged later in C15, and in the mid to late C16 by the Radcliffes (later Earls of Derwentwater). It was further remodeled circa 1620 as part of Dilston Hall and was altered when the Hall was rebuilt in 1710-15. The tower house is constructed from squared stone with stone dressings; it is now roofless. The foundations removed in 1881 may have been of the earlier medieval castle of the Divelstons. It is best known for its connections with the popular 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, executed 1716 for his part in the Jacobite rebellion. After the death of his son in 1731 the Derwentwater estates were seized by the Government and passed to the Greenwich Hospital Trustees, who in 1765 demolished the Hall except for the original tower house.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 239890)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY97566328

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 Defra ELS number; 18446 County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number; N8985

• Web site links
  • http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N8985
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=83
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/dilston.html
    http://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/Dilston.html
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p457-60
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p42
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p182
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p52-3 [plan]
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p251-2
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p88, 89
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p331
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p128-31
    Dickinson, F., 1969, The Castle of Devilswater
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p91-2
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p87-8
    Craster, H.H.E. (ed), 1914, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol10 p286-96
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p377-83
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p127-30
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p22
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p382-991
    White, W., 1859, Northumberland and the Border p66-7
    Howitt, W., c1850 (new edn 1896), Visits to Remarkable Places p446-67
    Scott, W., 1814, Border Antiquites of England and Scotland Vol2 p199
• Journal Articles
  • Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p228
    1897-8, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne [ser2] Vol8 p44-7
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb12]