Haughton Castle is a privately owned country mansion and

Grade I 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 ...

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 to the north of the village of

Humshaugh Humshaugh () is a parish near Hexham in Northumberland, England. The village had a population of 622 in the 2011 census, and is just north of Chollerford, which is located near Chesters Fort (Cilurnum) on Hadrian's Wall and is about 21 miles we ...

on the west bank of the

North Tyne North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. It is around north of the market town of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

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 ...

. It was built originally in the 13th century as a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

and enlarged and fortified in the 14th century. At this time the castle was owned by Gerald Widdrington and, although the Widdringtons still owned it in the early 14th century, the Swinburns were living there. By the 16th century, the castle fell into ruin and disrepair, and it was attacked by

Border reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

. A survey of 1541 reported the roof and floors to be "decayed and gone".Haughton Castle, Humshaugh
/ref> The property was acquired by the Smith family in about 1640, but in 1715 a further survey stated the building to be ruinous. Significant alterations were carried out for the Smiths between 1816 and 1845, latterly by architect John Dobson to convert the ruin into a substantial mansion. The Crawshaw family came into possession in 1862, and a west wing was added for them 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 ...

in 1876. Part of the castle served as a hospital 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 ...

. It is now an oblong

and one of the best-preserved hall houses in the north of England. In 1888 it was acquired by the Cruddas family, and it is currently owned by the Braithwaite family. Some commentators suggest it is the location for the traditional song "Waters of Tyne".

References

External links

Images of Haughton Castle
Castles in Northumberland Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland {{England-castle-stub