Brancepeth Castle is a

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 ...

in the village of

Brancepeth Brancepeth is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated about from Durham on the A690 road between Durham and Weardale. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 414. Brancepeth Castle was u ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, some 5 miles south-west of the city of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

(). It 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 ...

History

A succession of buildings has been on the site. The first was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

castle built by the

Bulmers Bulmers cider is one of a number of brands owned by British cider maker H. P. Bulmer of Hereford. It is one of the biggest selling British bottled cider brands in the UK because it has the highest concentration of apples, with a number of vari ...

, which was rebuilt by the Nevilles in the late 14th century. For many years the castle was owned by the Neville family until in 1569 it was confiscated by the Crown following the family's involvement in the

Rising of the North The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of ...

Brancepeth castle by BYRNE, WILLIAM - GMII

There have been a number of other owners since that time. In the early 17th century, the estate was granted by the Crown to

Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset (c. 158717 July 1645), was a politician, and favourite of King James VI and I. Background Robert Kerr was born in Wrington, Somerset, England, the younger son of Sir Thomas Kerr (Carr) of Ferniehurst, Scot ...

, from whom it subsequently confiscated the castle back due to his involvement in a poisoning scandal. In 1636, three men who had bought the castle from the King's Commissioners in 1633 sold it to Ralph Cole of Newcastle. His grandson, Sir Ralph Cole, 2nd Baronet, sold the property on 9 April 1701 to Sir Henry Belaysyse, whose daughter was involved with

Bobby Shafto Robert Shafto (sometimes spelt Shaftoe) (circa 1732 – 24 November 1797) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1760 and 1790. He was the likely subject of a famous North East English folk song and nursery rhyme " B ...

and who was said to have inspired the famous song."Castle of Shafto's lovelorn follower"
thenorthernecho.co.uk, 19 December 2003. Accessed 2 November 2011 In 1796 the castle was acquired by William Russell (1734–1818) of Newbottle near Sunderland, a wealthy banker and mine owner His son Matthew Russell (1765–1822), Member of Parliament for

Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...

in 1818, in the 1820s spent lavishly on the Castle's reconstruction. The present building is largely his work, to the designs of the architect John Paterson, and then improved in the mid-19th century by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country ho ...

for William Russell,

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

in 1841. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the castle was used as a hospital by convalescents from

Newcastle General Hospital Newcastle General Hospital (NGH) was for many years the main hospital for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and is managed by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Accident and Emergency Department and Intensive Care clo ...

. In 1939 it became the regimental headquarters for the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

, who erected a military camp of over 100 huts to the south of the village during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Durham Light Infantry left the Castle in 1962.

Dobson family

The castle is now owned by the Dobson family. Margaret Dobson, wife of publisher

Dennis Dobson Dennis Dobson (1919 – 1978)Lewis Foreman, Susan Foreman''London: A Musical Gazetteer'' Yale University Press, 2005, p. 327. was a British book publisher who was the eponymous founder of a small but respected company in London. Background Set up ...

, bought the castle in 1978 to store the company's stock of books when the lease on its

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

premises expired. Her husband died that year. Margaret Dobson restored the fabric and interior of the building, including the lead roof, which had been stripped by an earlier tenant. She refurbished function rooms, for use as a venue for auctions and twice-yearly craft fairs. Shakespearean plays were staged in the main courtyard, and rooms were rented. Margaret Dobson died aged 86 on 19 October 2014, leaving four sons, three daughters and 11 grandchildren. Original French political posters from 1968 found in the cellar of the castle featured in the BBC programme ''Inside Out North East & Cumbria'' in February 2019."Atelier Populaire: French protest art found in English castle"
BBC News, 11 February 2019.

References

*Margot Johnson. "The Castle" in "Brancepeth" in ''Durham: Historic and University City and surrounding area''. Sixth Edition. Turnstone Ventures, 1992, pp. 34 and 35. .

External links

Brancepeth Castle website
{{coord, 54, 44.0, N, 1, 39.0, W, region:GB_type:city, display=title Castles in County Durham Grade I listed buildings in County Durham History of County Durham

History

Dobson family

See also

References

Further reading

External links