Today's Object of the Week is a ruined Northumberland castle with a colourful history of myth and legend.
Life in Northumberland between 1300 and 1600 was dangerous and unstable.
Cross-border raids between England and Scotland were common and as fear and uncertainty gripped the area, important families protected themselves against attack by building strong defensible homes - like the one at Thirlwall.
In the 1330s, John Thirlwall built a stronghold that provided protection for his family and descendants for the next 300 years.
All the materials that were needed lay close by – timber, water and neatly dressed sandstone blocks which had been quarried by the Romans to build Hadrian’s Wall.
Strongholds like Thirlwall became an essential element in the defence of the English Border against Scottish raids.
Baron John returned from distant wars with great spoils, amongst which was a table of solid gold, said to be guarded by a hideous dwarf whose pitch-coloured skin proclaimed his exotic origins.
After many raids made by envious Border and Scottish Chiefs eager to seize the treasure for themselves, the castle was finally taken by the Scots and most of its defenders killed.
But when the Scots battered down the door of the chamber where the table had been kept, it had vanished along with its guardian - the dwarf.
One of the Scots then claimed that he had seen 'The Black Dwarf' staggering under the weight of the table to the castle well. The dwarf flung the table down the well shaft and leapt in after it, magically sealing the well after him.
Legend has it that he remains there still, guarding his table in some underground cavern far below Thirlwall Castle’s foundations.
The Thirlwalls were a notorious Border family - in the 1550s, the family were recorded as ‘prone and inclined to theft’ - immortalised in a well known local ballad, commemorating a border fray in which Albany Featherstonehaugh, a High Sheriff of Northumberland, was murdered.
Several generations of Thirlwall’s survived the border raids and prospered. When Lionel Thirlwall died in 1586, he left a comfortable endowment to his wife and each of his eight children.
After the Union of the Scottish and English Crowns in 1603, more peaceful conditions developed and border strongholds became redundant.
The Thirlwall Castle Estate was sold to the Earl of Carlisle in 1748 for £4,000. The Earl was interested only in the land and allowed the castle to fall into gradual decay.
During the restoration of Blenkinsopp Castle, a 19th century country mansion, an entrance to a secret passage was found in the north-west corner.
It is supposed that this passage connected Blenkinsopp Castle to Thirlwall Castle, to allow a means of escape should either be captured by some enemy.
Read about previous objects here:
- Ever heard of a bastle? This North East one was the home of a notorious hardman who decapitated a Scot
- Who was the ‘Lang Pack’ man who came to a bloody end after his dastardly plot was foiled?
- Is this the most photographed spot in the North East? Sycamore stands proud as our ‘Prince of Trees’
The Thirlwall Castle site is protected by Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status.
In 1999, Northumberland National Park Authority acquired a 99-year lease on Thirlwall Castle and 10 hectares of adjacent woodland.
- Thanks to staff at Northumberland National Park Authority for their help in compiling this feature. To explore the area around the castle, a walking route can also be found here.
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