Dalton Castle

Dalton Castle is a pele tower dating from the mid-14th century. It was repaired in 1545, remodelled around 1704, and again in 1856 by the architects Sharpe and Paley, with the roof being replaced in 1907. The structure is built from limestone rubble with red sandstone dressings and features a slate roof. It now stands two storeys high and has a rectangular shape.

The castle has a chamfered plinth and large quoins. The doorway on the south side features a double-chamfered arch and a hoodmould, with a renewed four-light window above that was inserted in 1856. This window has a king mullion and cusped tracery under a round arch with a hoodmould. On the west side, there is a small round-arched door with slit windows above that lead to a spiral staircase. To the right, a restored two-light window has ogee-headed lights, a pointed arch, and a hoodmould, with a string course beneath a smaller window in the same style.

The east side lacks a plinth and has no windows on the ground floor, featuring a square-headed single-light window to the left of a blocked two-light mullioned window. Above this are two pointed-arched windows with cusped ogee lights and hoodmoulds. The castle has a moulded oversailing course beneath an ashlar sandstone parapet with slits, one medieval gargoyle, and triangular copings built up in three courses, with a figure at the north-east corner.

Inside, the castle has been remodelled, with the present staircase dating from 1845. Corbels indicate the original floor levels. There are two original fireplaces on the east wall, one of which is in a chamber and features a trefoil beneath a keel-moulded arch with a keystone. The stair turret and the upper west window have ogee door-heads.

Dalton Castle was built to withstand Scottish invasions in the early to mid-14th century and later served as a courthouse and prison. It was given to the National Trust in 1965 and is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.