Ford Castle is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

situated at a shallow crossing point on the River Till,

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England. The castle dates from about 1278. The owner Sir William Heron was granted a licence to

crenellate A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

the castle in 1338. It was captured by the Scots in 1385 and dismantled by them. However, by the beginning of the 16th century it had been rebuilt and refortified. It was taken by

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...

on the eve of the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

in 1513. The castle passed from the Heron family to the Carr family by marriage in 1549 and again by marriage passed to Sir Francis Blake of

Cogges Cogges is an area beside the River Windrush in Witney, Oxfordshire, east of the town centre. It had been a separate village and until 1932 it was a separate civil parish. History The former village centres upon three historic buildings: the ...

, Oxfordshire in the 1660s. Blake built a substantial mansion in

Tudor style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

within the castle in 1694. On Blake's death in 1717 the Ford estate passed to the husband of his late daughter Mary and then in 1723 to her son Francis Blake Delaval (1692–1752). In 1761

John Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval John Hussey Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval (17 March 1728 – 17 May 1808), known as Sir John Delaval, Bt, between 1761 and 1783, was an English landowner and politician. Background and education Delaval was the son of Francis Blake Delaval, who ...

(1728–1808) rebuilt the Hall with the assistance of architect George Raffield in a

Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. On his death, the property passed to his granddaughter Susannah who had married the

Marquess of Waterford Marquess of Waterford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland and the premier marquessate in that peerage. It was created in 1789 for George Beresford, 2nd Earl of Tyrone. It is presently held by Henry Beresford, 9th Marquess of Waterford. The Ber ...

. In 1862 Louisa, Dowager Marchioness of Waterford (d 1891), widow of the 3rd Marquess, restored and substantially remodelled the Hall. The castle was acquired in 1907 by the coal-mining magnate

James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey JP DL (4 April 1846 – 21 November 1936) was an English industrialist, politician, and aristocrat known primarily for being a coal mining magnate from Durham and a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP). Li ...

, and it stayed with his family, in 1956 it was leased to

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of N ...

as a Young Persons' Residential Centre. In 2022, Ford Castle was acquired by PGL who now operate the site as an outdoor activity centre offering residential trips for schools, groups and young people.

References

Ford Castle 1
*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.
PGL Ford Castle
Castles in Northumberland Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland Grade I listed castles 1278 establishments in England

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

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