Staward Peel, or Staward Pele, is a

peel tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the England, English and Scotland, Scottish Border country, borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and ab ...

located in the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

property of Allen Banks & Staward Gorge 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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

History

A shrine likely existed on the site of the castle around 1271 and it is unknown when it was built or demolished; it was possibly of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

origin. A pele built from timber was built on the site in 1316 by

Anthony de Lucy Anthony de Lucy (1283–10 June 1343), 1st Baron Lucy or Luci, was an English nobleman who served as warden of Carlisle Castle and Chief Justiciar of Ireland. Life Lord Lucy's coat of arms. The fish are pikes, and thus form a pun on th ...

of Langley, who stationed 15

men-at-arms A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a kni ...

and 15

hobelar Hobelars were a type of light cavalry, or mounted infantry, used in Western Europe during the Middle Ages for skirmishing. They originated in 13th century Ireland, and generally rode hobbies, a type of light and agile horse. Origins According ...

s here. In 1326 King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

annexed the western part of Lucy's estate, which included Staward Pele. Recognising the defensible position of the site, Pele asked for tenders to demolish the pele and build a new larger defendable complex. Thomas II de Featherstonehaugh built a full scale castle on the site of the original pele.Dodds, John F., (1999) ''Bastions and Belligerents'' (''Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing'') p. 414-7 The site was purchased in 1373 by

Philippa of Hainault Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted a ...

from John Darci le Cocin and Nicholas de Swinburne and then it was passed to

Edmund, Duke of York Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fifth son (fourth surviving) of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: ...

. The

Dukes of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was ...

then rented it to

Hexham Priory Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed church dedicated to St Andrew, in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in the North East of England. Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century into its current form, with addit ...

in 1385 until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The site was then found by the crown and it was passed to the

Earl of Dunbar The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, applied to the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this ...

in 1603. In 1613, King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

gave Staward to Lord Howard of Walden who later gave it to John Sanderson of Healey. In 1664 he sold the premise for £450 to George Bacon of Broadwood Hall. Nearby "Staward Manor House" in the parish of Haydon, Northumberland, contains initials on a lintel of George Bacon and his wife Cecilia Robson dated 1668, founders of the Bacon family "of Stewart Pile" (i.e. Staward Peel), Styford and Newton Cap in Durham. Their second son John Bacon (d.1736) was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1693.See pedigree of Bacon family "Bacon (now Bacon-Grey) of Staward, Styford, etc.," in A. Hist. of Northumb., V

/ref> A plan of Staward Peel was created in 1759 showing the ruins at that time. These indicate a gatehouse, curtain wall and a keep-like feature were present, indicating that Featherstonehaugh's structure was likely a castle. It was demolished before 1856 and only masonry ruins of three of the outer walls from the

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

, and remains of the ditch and earthworks also exist today. The site also appears to have been robbed of any surviving rubble present on the site at the time of demolition.Hugill, R. (1939) ''Borderland Castles and Peles'' (1970 Reprint by Frank Graham) p. 200-1 in 1947/8 the Roman altar that was incorporated near the top fell and was later relocated at Low Staward Manor.

References

{{reflist Fortifications in the United Kingdom Historic buildings and structures in England History of Northumberland