Elsdon Castle

Elsdon Castle
Northumberland
Elsdon Castle
Type:	Motte and bailey castle
Location
Grid reference:	NY939935
Location:	55°14’8"N, 2°5’51"W
Village:	Elsdon
History
Information
Condition:	Earthworks only

Elsdon Castle is a castle of Northumberland, in the village of Elsdon about ten miles southwest of Rothbury. The site is also known as Mote Hills. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Elsdon is the best preserved mediæval motte and bailey castle site in Northumberland. It was built by Robert de Umfraville, not long after the Norman Conquest and stands on a natural spur of a hill. Impressive earthworks remain, which are open to the public without charge. The site consists of a tall mound or motte to the south, with an embanked kidney-shaped bailey to the north. A presumed wooden bridge between the two no longer exists. A notice-board to the east shows an illustrated reconstruction of the castle.

Elsdon Castle is thought to have been abandoned after it was superseded by the nearby Harbottle Castle.

Legend has gathered around the castle. According to one tale a Danish giant lived on the hill and terrorised the neighbourhood. It is tempting to rationalise this as a memory of Siward, Earl of Northumbria in the reign of Edward the Confessor.

Elsdon Tower is nearby: a pele tower dating from the late 14th or early 15th century, which may also have been built by the de Umfravilles, though for six hundred years it was the Elsdon Rectory.

See also

• Elsdon Tower

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Elsdon Castle)

• Images of Elsdon Castle - NorthOfTheTyne
• Elsdon Castle
• Information on Elsdon Castle  from GENUKI

References

• Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, The David & Charles Book of Castles, David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3