England · 14th century
Belsay Castle is a 14th-century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Monument and a Grade I listed building.
The main structure, a substantial three-storey rectangular pele tower with rounded turrets and battlements, was constructed about 1370, and was the home of the Middleton family. In 1614 Thomas Middleton built a new manor house attached to the tower. A west wing was added in 1711 but was largely demolished in 1872 by Sir Arthur Middleton when the remainder of the house was considerably altered.
The castle was abandoned as a residence by the family in the early 19th century when Sir Charles Monck built Belsay Hall close by. The interiors were largely removed and it was then used as a ready-made folly, as was fashionable among the aristocracy at the time, serving as the setting for garden parties and other entertainments.
The castle is administered by English Heritage and is open to the public.
Text adapted from “Belsay Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Belsay Castle ranks #3,552 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #243 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded c. 1370, it is older than 54% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 15 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Newcastle upon Tyne, 21 km away. It is one of the 19 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Northumberland. See how England compares in the castle statistics.
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