Ravensworth Castle And Park Wall

NZ 1407-1507 16/119 4.2.69

RAVENSWORTH THE GREEN (south side) Ravensworth Castle and Park Wall (formerly listed as Ravensworth Castle)

GV I

Ruined castle and park wall. Late C14. For Henry, Lord Fitzhugh. Walls of sandstone rubble, mainly faced with square-cut ashlar. 3-storey tower attached to main gateway in north-east corner; foundations of curtain wall with fragments of 2 towers to south-west and south-east; part of belfry tower, formerly attached to chapel; central rectangular range of less architectural pretension, probably stables. Gateway: depressed continuously-moulded 2-centred-arched opening, of 2 orders, the outer one chamfered, the inner one convex, with hoodmould with small head stops, and on the inside a portcullis slot. Attached to the north-east, a 3-storey ashlar tower, with offset plinths, and double buttress to northern corner; on the north-western side, on each floor a cruciform loophole; on the north- eastern side a single-light window on each floor and an incomplete garderobe tower to the eastern corner; on the south-eastern side, shouldered doorways with convex chamfer on ground floor to left and first floor to right, the latter formerly with an external staircase; to its left a trefoiled single- light window to straight-flight mural staircase leading to second floor, which has a window of 2 trefoiled lights under monolithic lintel; turret to right above staircase up to roof walk. Belfry: ashlar; parts of 2 walls standing almost to full height of a very tall and narrow tower, with a Latin inscription below the second-floor string course, and with a very tall chamfered segmental-pointed arched doorway to north. The stable block has a complete 2-storey gable to north west, with a central doorway. The Park Wall, constructed around the medieval hunting park by licence in 1391, survives almost intact, partly rebuilt but in many stretches clearly surviving in medieval form, of tapering section, constructed of large roughly-squared stones, standing approximately 2 metres high. Interior of gate tower: on ground floor, across the northern corner, the remains of a fireplace; on first floor, a chamfered shouldered fireplace in the north- western side; on second floor, across the northern corner a fireplace, the lintel on corbels framing a coat of arms; the beam slots for the first and second floors run in opposite directions; first-floor doorway into room from outside staircase has rebate for door to open into. The Castle and outlying earthworks are scheduled as an Ancient Monument. VCH i pp 88-89; Peter F Ryder, "Ravensworth Castle, North Yorkshire", Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, vol 51, 1979, pp 81-100.

Listing NGR: NZ1422507716