Barmoor Castle ( ) is a privately owned 19th-century country house built on an ancient site in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. As at 2008 the decaying building is officially listed on the

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

Buildings at Risk Register.

Muschamp family

After the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the Manor of Barmoor was granted to the Muschamp family who built a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

on the site. A licence to

crenellate A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

the house was granted by

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

on 17 May 1341. A 1541 survey described the house as ' in extreme decay and almost ruinous for lack of reparations'. Some repairs and improvements were carried out in 1584 but the Muschamps experienced financial difficulties, and following the death of George Muschamp in 1649 the estate was sold to William Carr of Etal to satisfy the demands of creditors.

Sitwell family

After 1702 the estate changed hands several times until in 1791 it was acquired by inheritance by Francis Hurt Sitwell. The Sitwells engaged architect John Paterson of Edinburgh and in 1801 built the present substantial castellated

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

mansion on the site of and incorporating some existing stonework of the old house. Later improvements and extensions were carried out c.1892 by Brigadier general William Henry Sitwell. From 1899 to 1913 the castle was rented by the banker and local historian Thomas Hodgkin.Life and Letters of Thomas Hodgkin, Louise Creighton, 1918

Present day

The present owner occupiers, the Lamb family, acquired the house and in the 1980s from where they operate a caravan and holiday park.

References

* * ''The History and Antiquities of North Durham'' Rev James Raine MA (1825) pp266/7
History of Barmoor Castle
{{Authority control Country houses in Northumberland Grade II* listed buildings in Northumberland Structures on the Heritage at Risk register