Twizell Castle
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Twizell Castle is a Grade II listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument which stands on a bend of the River Till at Tillmouth Park, Northumberland. Below it the medieval Twizell bridge spans the river.
The gardens of the castle contain the earthwork remains of the lost medieval village of Twizell, whilst the massive ruin presents the remains of an 18th century castle which was never completed.
An ancient Tower house which once stood on the site was, in 1415, held by Sir John Heron. This was destroyed by the Scots in 1496, and the estate was sold by the Herons about 1520 to a member of the Selby family. A survey in 1561 reported only the remnants of a Tower house and a barmkin.
In 1685 Sir Francis Blake (d.1717) purchased the estate from a widow Selby for £1944 plus an annuity of £100, and the Blake family lived on the estate until 1738 when they moved to nearby Tillmouth Hall.
From about 1770 the Blakes worked on the creation of the castle, designed by architect James Nesbit of Kelso to stand five storeys tall. Despite some forty years work the project was never completed.
When in 1882 the Blakes built a new mansion at Tillmouth Park[1] much of the incomplete Twizell Castle was demolished and the stone used in the new construction.
