Halton Castle, Whittington

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

C13 or early C14 tower house with an attached hall house of C15 which was mostly demolished and replaced in C17. Dressed stone with stone slate roofs. Irregular plan. Garden front has a four-storey, late C14 tower projecting on left. It has several slit windows and a one-light C14 window with cusped head on the 2nd floor; similar window on right return. 1st floor has 16-pane sash in a C17 roll-moulded surround, and a similar surround to 2-light mullioned window on right return with coat of arms of Carnaby over. Corbelled bartizans and original crenallations. A Medieval wall, c.8 ft high and 3-4 ft thick. It is attached to the south front of the tower and may represent part of the barmkin from the Medieval manor house; now a garden wall.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY99716784

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 18213
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is N8653 '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.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N8653
    http://www.northofthetyne.co.uk/HaltonCastle.html
    http://castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/87/halton.html
• Books
  • Ryder, P.F., 2001. Archaeology in Northumberland 2000-2001 p29
    Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p441-3
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p59
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p96-7
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p186
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p71
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p84, 85
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p334
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p238-9
    Graham, F., 1977, Old Halls, Houses and Inns of Northumberland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p130-3
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p180-1
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p112-13
    Pevsner, N., 1957, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p161
    Richmond, I.A. (ed.) 1947. Handbook to the Roman Wall (Newcastle) p69-70
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p113-5
    Craster, H.H.E. (ed), 1914, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol10 p395-413
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p390-1
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p18, 311-22
• Journal Articles
  • King, Andy, 2007, 'Fortress and fashion statements: gentry castles in fourteenth-century Northumberland' Journal of Medieval History Vol33 p376, 378
    Borne, P. and Dixon, P., 1978. ‘Halton Castle reconsidered’ Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol6 p131-9
    1921, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Vol10 p100-1
    1889, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p8
    Bates, C.J., 1885-6, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Vol2 p197-200
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1415 list of Northumberland Castles [http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/numblis2.html]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb13]