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Description: | A tower house castle constructed between 1439 and 1460 during a period of turbulent border warfare. The tower is a 3 storey rectangular stone building with two short projections or wings at the south west and north west corners. It is capped by 4 rounded corner turrets with battlements in between and constructed of square blocks of sandstone. The tunnel-vaulted ground floor was probably used as a kitchen, with the great hall on the floor above. Traces of 15th century painted wall plaster survive in the hall. In 1614 a low two storey range was added to the tower house, possibly on the site of an earlier range of buildings. The building, one of the earliest undefended houses in the country, reflected the more settled conditions in the Border area after the union of the Crowns of England and Scotland in 1603. This house was re-modelled in 1862 and the tower repaired in 1897. Attached to the west of the main range are the remains of a three storey block, probably built in 1711. Situated immediately north of the tower house is a 2 storey range of buildings, originally freestanding but joined by a small building to the tower in the 19th century. This building, known as the north wing, displays obvious medieval masonry, especially in the eastern wall. The gable end and the roof of this building were replaced in the 19th century but the remainder is thought to be of a similar date to the tower house. Situated 45 metres north east of the tower house is a linear depression which can be traced to the north into a walled garden, possibly the remains of an infilled moat and may have been associated with the early Manor of Belsay before the construction of the tower house in the 14th century. It is known that there was an earlier manor house as it received Edward I in 1278 and its location has never been confirmed. Fragments of 14th and 15th century paintings survive. | Subjects: | Moat Gardens Parks And Urban Spaces Defence Manor House Tower House Wall Painting Domestic House Formal Garden Water Supply And Drainage Hollow Great Hall | Source: | English Heritage - Viewfinder | Creator: | National Monuments Record | Identifier: | http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk... | Language: | en | Go to resource |
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