Etal Castle Gate Tower, South Curtain Wall And South West Tower

Etal Castle features a gatehouse, south curtain wall, and south-west tower, all dating from the 14th century. The castle was granted a licence to crenellate in 1342 for the Manners family and is constructed from squared stone.

The gatehouse is located in the south-east corner of the castle and consists of two storeys, flanked by three-storey turrets at the entrance. It has a triple-chamfered arch, which is flanked by projecting turrets, and includes a portcullis groove. Above the arch, there is a worn shield displaying a coat of arms and a two-light Decorated window. On the left side, there is a small lancet window on the ground floor and a two-light Decorated window above it. The right turret has a garderobe chute. The inner face of the gatehouse features a double-chamfered arch with a large four-light Decorated window above.

Inside, the gatehouse originally had a steeply-pitched tunnel vault with chamfered transverse ribs, with the springing still visible. The guard rooms on either side also have tunnel vaults with chamfered ribs; the left guard room contains a small fireplace with a segmental lintel. The doorways in these rooms are pointed-arched with continuous chamfers. A mural stair leads to the first floor in the north wall, and there was formerly a newel stair above. The windows have broad segmental rere arches with chamfered transverse ribs. On the first floor, there is a large fireplace with a segmental lintel, which is partly blocked.

The south curtain wall is approximately 40 yards long and remains mostly intact up to the base of the parapet level, with rounded corbels projecting on the inner face to support a platform.

The south-west tower is small and square, consisting of only the ground floor. It features a pointed-arched doorway with a continuous chamfer, and the interior has a plain pointed tunnel vault.