Norham Castle tower keep

Heritage listing

Details The monument comprises two areas which together include the remains of the tower keep castle at Norham. The remains are incorporated within three enclosures or wards, each bounded by earthwork defences. The inner ward is the site of the earliest castle and includes a natural mound, protected on the south side by a 20m wide ditch measuring up to 10m deep, and on the north side, by its own steep gradient and the River Tweed. During the 12th century, a large square stone keep was built within this enclosure and was complete by 1174. At about the same time a curtain wall was constructed round the perimeter. These structures are believed to have replaced an earlier timber keep and palisade since records indicate that there was a castle here as early as 1121. The foundations of the 12th century curtain remain, but as the wall was rebuilt several times, the one standing today is largely 16th century. Similarly the buildings which line its inner face and include the bishop's hall and numerous service buildings, are also 16th century and overlie similar buildings of an earlier date which include at least two halls or residences, namely the 12th century hall of Bishop Hugh Puisset and the late 13th century hall of Bishop Antony Bek. The keep, originally three storeys high, was largely reconstructed between 1422 and 1425 when two floors were added above the second storey, necessitating the heightening of the walls and the insertion of a central supporting wall. The lower floors too were divided by crosswalls, showing that the keep was of the rarer kind known as a hall keep. Originally, access from outside was to the first floor only via an external stair. In the 15th century, however, a forebuilding was added containing a spiral stair that led to all floors and onto the ro

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.