Witton Castle

Drawing of Witton Castle by John Preston Neale (1818)

Witton Castle today

Witton Castle is a castle from the 15th century near the village of Witton-le-Wear near Bishop Auckland in the English administration unit County Durham . The building, which has often been converted, is now in the middle of a holiday park and caravan park. English Heritage has it as a historical building II *. Grade listed.

history

Sir Ralph Eure received royal permission in 1410 to fortify his mansion ("License to crenelate"). During the English Civil War the castle belonged to the royalist William Darcy . He campaigned for the return of his confiscated property. His descendant Henry Darcy sold it to William Cuthbert in 1743 . The castle later fell to the Hopper family , but was badly damaged in a fire in 1796, which destroyed much of the interior.

In 1816 Sir William Chaytor of Croft Hall in Yorkshire bought the castle for £ 78,000, had the masonry refurbished and the interior done in a modern style. Rich coal seams were found on the property, and from around 1825 the shafts of Witton Park Colliery were sunk. Sir William Chaytor was High Sheriff of Durham in 1839 . Members of the Chaytor family lived in Witton Castle until the mid-20th century.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Witton Castle . Images of England. Retrieved August 11, 2015.

swell

• John Burke: A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland . Volume I. 1835.
• Witton Castle . The Gatehouse Gazetteer.

Web links

Commons : Witton Castle  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 54 ° 40 ′ 6.2 "  N , 1 ° 45 ′ 51.5"  W.