Twizell Castle

Twizell Castle is a ruined house that began construction around 1770 for Sir Francis Blake, with assistance from Nisbet of Kelso, while incorporating some masonry from a medieval castle. The building is designed in the Gothick style and is constructed of ashlar and squared stone, though it is now roofless. It has a rectangular shape with four round corner towers and originally stood five storeys high, but now consists of two storeys and seven bays. The pointed windows feature brick arches, with the central window set in a semicircular projection. The first floor has much taller pointed windows, and the returns display large blank quatrefoils.

The original north wall, located between the towers, has been lost. The current north wall, which was once internal, is partly medieval and includes 18th-century openings as well as blocked earlier openings, such as large segmental arches and a two-light mullioned window. This wall is approximately 70 inches thick.

Inside, the ground floor contains four large vaulted rooms along the south front. Three of these are tunnel vaults, while the fourth, located behind the central bow, features a central groin vault flanked by two tunnel vaults, all constructed in fine ashlar. The west vault has holes for a timber floor. The angle towers also have vaulted ground floors; the south-west tower features a shallow stone dome, and the south-east tower has a brick dome. In the north towers, only the springing of the vaults remains. There are also two corridors with pointed brick tunnel vaults and two small rooms with collapsed vaults. On the current north wall, the springing of a groin vault can be seen at first-floor level.

Construction of the house continued for nearly 50 years but was never completed. The design intended for the house to be vaulted throughout as a fire precaution.