The Castle

The Castle, Barnard Castle

This is a consolidated and displayed ruin of a castle, partly excavated, comprising the substantial remains of an important medieval fortress.

An earthwork castle was first established in the area that became the Inner Ward by Guy de Baliol after around 1095. He later probably rebuilt the south gate tower in stone.

The stone castle was developed over several phases during the 12th century. Between 1130 and 1185, Bernard de Baliol (died 1154) and his son of the same name built the larger castle. They constructed a wall and rock-cut ditch around the Inner Ward, the Headlam Tower in place of the stone gatehouse, and a two-storey keep at the north-east corner (circa 1125 to circa 1140). They added a curtain wall and gates to the other wards, with the Constable Tower on the west and the principal gatehouse (now lost) on the east in the Outer Ward. Around the courtyard of the Town Ward they built ranges, and the Church of St Margaret was built in the Outer Ward (circa 1140 to circa 1170). A new stone Hall and Great Chamber, and the Prison and Postern Towers were constructed circa 1170 to 1185.

In the 13th century, the Round Tower was added at the north-west corner, incorporating earlier structure, and parts of the curtain wall were probably rebuilt. In the 14th century, the Beauchamp Earls of Warwick improved the defences of the Inner and Middle Wards by digging a north-south ditch between the Middle and Town Wards, building a drawbridge, and improving the sally-port in the west wall at the west end of the Great Ditch. They also made domestic improvements including rebuilding the Great Hall. Richard Duke of Gloucester made further minor improvements between 1471 and 1485. Sir Henry Vane acquired the castle in 1625 and robbed it for stone used in the rebuilding of Raby Castle.

The castle is constructed mostly of coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings and is now roofless. The plan comprises the Inner Ward at the north-west corner, the Middle Ward to the south of it, the Town Ward to the east of both, and the Outer Ward filling the south half of the promontory.

The high curtain wall survives entire on the north side and in varying states of alteration around the other sides, with surviving buildings abutting it and the internal ward walls. The North Gate has chamfered jambs with plain chamfered abaci supporting a double-chamfered round arch. Flanking damaged walls indicate either buttresses or a barbican have been removed. A solid bastion projects on the west. On the first floor of the gatehouse are three plain rectangular windows with hooded fireplaces in the interior.

Brackenbury's Tower stands on the east wall of the Town Ward. Its interior has a barrel-vaulted undercroft with garderobe, fireplace and cupboards, and incomplete stone stairs to the first floor. The first floor has a garderobe, fireplace and three slits, one of which was later altered to form a window with seats.

The south wall of the Town Ward has shallow buttresses and leans heavily outwards. The south-west wall crosses the Great Ditch of the Inner Ward and has a 12th-century arched entrance with no evidence of gates in the bottom of the ditch. It joins a wall with shallow buttresses which forms a shell keep of the Inner Ward. At the west end of the Great Ditch is the 14th-century sally-port.

On the south side facing the Town Ward are the Postern and Prison Tower, a demi-bastion and the remains of two bridges on the Great Ditch. On the west, forming with the curtain wall a continuous front overlooking the ravine of the river, are the Headlam and Mortham Towers, the Great Hall, the Great Chamber, and at the north-west corner the Round Tower.

The Headlam Tower retains only its west wall. The fragmentary Mortham Tower shows five storeys, with service rooms flanking the passage to the Hall. A 15th-century garderobe turret was added to this tower.

The 14th-century Great Hall has mullioned-and-transomed windows with cusped ogee lights and quatrefoils, and joist-holes for an upper gallery. The Great Chamber has a 15th-century west oriel window added, with re-used carving of interlace and boar set in the window head.

The Round Tower is constructed of ashlar and is inserted into the angle between the Great Chamber and the north junction of the Inner Ward and Town Ward walls. Its interior has an undercroft with a domical spiral-laid vault and three storeys above. The undercroft has three arrow slits, a fireplace, and an inserted door to the Great Chamber. The upper floors retain much original detail including a barrel-vaulted stair landing, garderobe doors, and round-headed doors to the principal apartment. The floors and roof were removed when the tower was used as a shot-tower in the 18th century.