BERWICK CASTLE

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The standing remains of Berwick Castle which includes the west wall of the castle, the south east angle tower known as the Constable Tower and a length of curtain wall adjacent to it, as well as the flanking wall known as the White Wall. A castle at Berwick is first mentioned in documents dating to the 12th century, although most of the remains which are visible today date from a re-modelling of the structure in the late 13th and subsequent centuries. When Edward I captured the town of Berwick from the Scots in 1296 the existing castle was strengthened. At this time an additional length of wall known as the White Wall was constructed. Large sections of this wall have been levelled and survive as foundations however the west wall and parts of the east wall of the castle survive as standing structures. Attached to the southern end of this wall is the south east angle tower, known as the Constable Tower. The upper courses of this tower are constructed of weathered ashlar blocks and are equipped with arrow slits suggesting a late 13th century date. The lower courses of the tower are rougher and less regular and are thought to represent the base of an earlier 12th century tower. At the northern end of this length of wall is a second tower standing to a height of six courses above the raised ground level. The west wall of the castle is also visible above ground standing to a maximum height of 6 metres and up to 4 metres thick. At its northern end are the remains of a semi-circular tower visible as rubble core 12 metres high. This tower is known as Barmekin Tower. At the southern end of the west wall there is a semi circular mid 16th century gun turret. Attached to the south west angle of the castle, the White Wall descends the steep slopes of the Tweed where it terminated at a large wooden gate. A tower constructed at the same time on the site of its medieval predecessor survives well at the present edge of the river. Scheduled.

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[NT 993534] Castle [LB] (remains of) [TI]. (1)

The castle was originally built in the 13th century and continued to be garrisoned until 1603. It was partly demolished in 1641 and largely cleared in 1843 to build the railway station.

All that remains in the western flanking wall and three towers.
Scheduled. (2-4)

Published Survey 1/2500 revised.
See Map Diagrams and G.P.s.(5)

There was a fortress here in the C12, but it was often besieged, attacked and altered. In the beginning of the C17 a large town house was begun on the site, but after 1611 the castle was left to decline. A large part of the stonework was removed for building Holy Trinity Church, and later the greater part of the remains were swept away for the railway station on the site. The west curtain wall survives in part, with steep steps down to the river (end of C13), and fragments of towers of the C16. AM.

Ruins of the Constable Tower (Part of Berwick Castle). The Constable Tower (probably C13) exists fragmentally in the grounds of Castle Vale Hotel.

Wall of Berwick Castle to North of the ruins of Constable Tower. Ruined wall to North of the ruins of Constable Tower. (6)

Additional bibliography. (7-8)

NT 9945 - NT 995531. Old castle wall remainder of Elizabethan
ramparts, scheduled. (9)

NT 993 534. Berwick Castle and White Wall. The visible remains are as follows: The west wall of the 13th century castle and 16th century guntower on the west side. The stepped wall running south from the castle to the water tower with 16th century guntower. The polygonal tower at the SE angle of the castle and to the north an earthern bank covering the surviving part of the twin-towered castlegate. To the west of the polygonal tower a length of curtain wall has been partly rebuilt in the 19th century. The schedule includes the area of Berwick Castle below the railway station and goods yard. (10)

Full bibliography (11a).

NT 993 534. All that remains of the castle is the west wall forming the west boundary of the railway property, with a spur-wall running down to the river, and to the east of the railway in the grounds of Castle Vale House, fragments of a polygonal tower and traces of the castle wall leading north from it. Surveyed by RCHME at 1:1250. (11)

NT 994 533. Berwick castle. Scheduled No ND/16A. (12)

The remains of a medieval castle are visible as a structure on air photographs centred at NT 9932 5340. The remains of Berwick Castle consist of the western wall and three towers.
(16)

Listed by Cathcart King. (17)

Listed. (18)

Despite the Henrician modifications to the castle to accomodate artillery, the survey of Berwick's defences in 1533 had concluded that if the town fell to Scottish or rebel hands, the castle was ill-equipped as a place to retake it, and the town was well-positioned to theaten a loyal garrison in the castle. A further survey of 1550 reached the same conclusion, and the remedy decided on was to create a defendable citadel within Berwick's walls, and the abandonment of the castle as a defensive structure. (19)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:2500 1961

( 2) General reference

Scott J. 1888. History of Berwick-upon-Tweed, 439-442, plan 142

( 3) Ministry of Public Building and Works 1965 Ancient monuments in England and Wales : a list prepared by the Ministry of Public Building and Works, corrected to 31st December 1963

Page(s)83

( 4) R Allen Brown, H M Colvin and A J Taylor 1963 The history of the King's Works, volume 2 : the Middle Ages

Page(s)563-571

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

F1 DS 01-JUN-67

( 6) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Berwick upon Tweed 26-MAY-1971 622 Page(s)1-2

(7) The Antiquaries journal : journal of the Society of Antiquaries of London

45 (1965) Page(s)64-66

(8) The Antiquaries journal : journal of the Society of Antiquaries of London

1982 Page(s)615,633,636,642

( 9) by Department of the Environment, Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings London 1978 List of ancient monuments in England: Volume 1, Northern England; Volume 2, Southern England; Volume 3, East Anglia and the Midlands

1 Page(s)45

(10) General reference

DOE (IAM) Ancient Monuments Record Form Undated

(11) Field Investigators Comments

Keith Blood and Donnie Mackay/JUN-1988/RCHME: Berwick Survey

(11a) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

Page(s)327-8

(12) English Heritage 1995 County list of Scheduled Monuments : March 1994

Northumberland Page(s)16

(13) Scheduled Monument Notification

07-APR-1997

(14) Iain Macivor 1990 The fortifications of Berwick-upon-Tweed

(15) by M C Bishop 1992 The White Wall, Berwick-upon-Tweed

Archaeologia Aeliana : or miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquityThird series vol 1(1904)- 21(1924)

(16) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR OS/87123 0552 18-Jun-1987

(17) David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume II : Norfolk-Yorkshire and the islands

Page(s)327-8

(18) Dodds, JF 1999 Bastions and Belligerents: Medieval Strongholds in Northumberland

Page(s)22-7

(19) by H M Colvin ... [et al] 1982 The history of the King's Works, volume 4 : 1485-1660 (Part 2)

Page(s)614,642

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