Dilston Castle

Dilston Castle is a tower house, probably built in the early 15th century by Sir William Claxton. It was enlarged in the later 15th century and in the 16th century by the Radcliffes, who later became Earls of Derwentwater. Around 1620, it was remodelled as part of Dilston Hall, and further altered during the rebuilding of the Hall between 1710 and 1715. The structure is built of squared stone with dressings and is currently roofless. It has a roughly L-shaped plan.

The east elevation is divided into three parts. The central three-storey section has one wide bay. The ground floor features two small round-headed lights, each with a circular gunloop below. The first floor contains a large 18th-century window with a raised stone surround, alongside a trompe l'oeil window with a similar surround and an earlier chamfered loop. The second floor is now ruinous and shows part of another 18th-century window. To the left, a four-storey south turret, built in the later 15th century, retains original chamfered loops on the ground and second floors, and has later doorways to the first and second floors, the latter being blocked. To the right, a projecting five-storey wing from the 16th century has a boarded door under a flattened triangular head, with a small loop to the right. The upper floors have two-light windows, some of which are missing mullions; a moulded cornice remains, along with remnants of a crenellated parapet. A taller turret, corbelled out, sits at the angle between the centre and the wing, featuring a chamfered loop.

The north wall of the wing shows various openings relating to the former 16th-century hall block, including remains of a Great Chamber fireplace at first-floor level. The south end of the south turret displays a ground-floor slit with a gunloop, and 15th and 16th-century two-light windows to the upper floors. The west elevation exhibits similar loops and several two- and three-light windows with transoms and hoodmoulds to the upper floors, along with a corbelled-out stack to the second floor. To the right, the south turret has chamfered loops and a two-light window on the first floor.

Internally, the ground floor is characterized by segmental barrel vaults. 16th and 17th-century moulded fireplaces are found on the first and second floors. A 15th-century first-floor fireplace in the south turret has a corbelled-out lintel. A stone winder stair, which is partly collapsed, is located in the 16th-century wing.

Historical records indicate that foundations removed in 1881 may have belonged to an earlier medieval castle known as Divelstons. The castle is best known for its association with the 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, who was executed in 1716 for his involvement in the Jacobite rebellion. Following the death of his son in 1731, the Derwentwater estates were seized by the Government and passed to the Greenwich Hospital Trustees, who demolished the Hall in 1765, preserving the original tower house.

The castle was roofless and in poor condition at the time of survey.