Harbottle Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hirbodel; Herbotelle; Harbotle

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

Early C12 motte-and-bailey castle later modified by the construction of a shell keep, defended by a curtain wall and tower, the bailey being used as a barmkin. In 1318 the castle was captured by Robert Bruce, was restored in 1336, but in ruins by 1351. It was repaired at the end of C14. Further building work took place between 1541 and 1551 and further repairs were made in 1563. Artillery fortifications were erected in C16. The castle was quarried for stone in C17. The motte, 14m high, is 65m in diameter at the base and 30m at the top. There are C16 buildings on top. At the foot of the motte on the south side is a mass of fallen masonry said to be of C13 date. The motte ditch is up to 2m deep with traces of a counterscarp bank 0.3m high. The bailey was surrounded by a ditch 11m deep internally and 3.5m deep externally, with a counterscarp bank 0.3m high. The curtain wall survives intermittently as an earthwork with some standing masonry.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 236160)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NT93250481

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 1855
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is N1145 '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.

• Web site links
  • http://www.britannia.com/tours/coquetdale/harbottle.html
    http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N1145
    http://www.sine.newcastle.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=127
    http://www.northumberland-national-park.org.uk/VisitorGuide/TimesPast/HistoricVillageAtlas/Harbottle/default.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/harbottle.html
    http://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/harbottle.html
• Books
  • Crow, J., 2004, 'Harbottle Castle: excavation and survey' in Frodsham, P., Archaeology in Northumberland National Park (CBA Research report 136) p246-61
    Crow, J., 2000, 'Harbottle Castle' Archaeology in Northumberland 1999-2000 p33
    Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p180-3
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p60-1
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p186
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p72-7 [plan]
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p302
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p10, 11, 34-7
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p334
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p239
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p185-7
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London) p252-4
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p200
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p114
    Dodds, Madeleine Hope (ed), 1940, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol15 p472-87
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p115-7
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Dixon, D.D., 1903. Upper Coquetdale (Newcastle) p177-87
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p391-2
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p24
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1858, Feudal and Military Antiquities of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders (London: Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute at Newcastle) Vol2 p53-9
• Journal Articles
  • Storey, K., 2007, 'Harbottle Castle: an architectural metamorphosis' Tyne and Tweed Vol61 p4-7
    King, Andy, 2007, 'Fortress and fashion statements: gentry castles in fourteenth-century Northumberland' Journal of Medieval History Vol33 p383-4
    1990 June 19, Newcastle Journal p9
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p233
    1968-70, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol38 p34-6
    1961, Publications of the Surtees Society Vol176 p124-5
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    St Joseph, J.K., 1950, 'Castles of Northumberalnd from the air' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol28 p8-9
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p134-6 [plan]
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1932-4, Harbottle Castle' History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol28 p215-31
    1917-8, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol8 p28-34
    Hodgson, J.C., 1916, 'List of Ruined Towers, Chapels, etc., in Northumberland; compiled about 1715 by John Warburton, Somerset Herald, aided by John Horsley' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser3] Vol13 p4
    1900, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol9 p229-36
    Tate, 1863-8, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol5 p427-37
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1584 Commissioners Report [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis9.html]
    1541 Survey of the East and Middle Marches [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis5.html]
    1509 Survey of Tevedale [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis3.html]
    1415 list of Northumberland Castles [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis2.html]
    Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p360
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb21]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p342
• Other sources, 'grey' literature, unpublished works, etc. (Theses, in-house reports and other such)
  • Rushworth, A. and Carlton, R., 1998, Harbottle Castle, a documentary survey (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: The Archaeological Practice)
    Ryder, P.F., 1990, Harbottle Castle: a short historical and descriptive account (NNPA)