England · Partial ruin
Twizell Castle
Twizell Castle is an 18th‑century Gothic Revival house built on the site of an earlier medieval tower house, located on a bend of the River Till in Northumberland. Work began around 1770 to recreate a large castellated mansion but the project was never completed; much stone was removed in the 19th century and today the site survives as a two‑storey folly and ruin visible from a public footpath.
Its prime
1800
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1800
What Twizell Castle looked like in its prime.
Rectangular main block of warm red sandstone with projecting circular towers at the corners and two short wings extending to the north; elevations pierced by tall arched and rectangular openings, many now blocked or truncated. The building presents as a low two‑storey Gothic Revival mansion (a larger five‑storey scheme was planned but unfinished), with exposed upper wall heads where a roof would have been, sitting on open pasture on a bend of the River Till with trees and the medieval bridge below.
Its story
The story of Twizell Castle.
The Heron Tower and James IV, 1415-1513
A medieval tower house once stood on this bend of the River Till, above the medieval Twizell Bridge, ten miles south-west of Berwick upon Tweed. In 1415 it was held by Sir John Heron. It was destroyed in 1496 by a Scottish army commanded by James IV of Scotland and Perkin Warbeck.
James IV came back to the place on 24 August 1513, on his way to besiege Norham Castle, and held a council or parliament at "Twesil" or "Twesilhaugh".
The Selbys and the Blake Purchase, c.1520-1738
The Herons sold the estate around 1520 to a member of the Selby family. A survey in 1561 reported only the remnants of a tower house and a barmkin. John Selby appears to have repaired the buildings: the inventory of furnishings taken at his death in 1595 mentions a new chamber, a gallery and chambers in the tower.
In 1685 Sir Francis Blake, who died in 1718, bought the estate from the widow Selby for £1,944 and an annuity of £100. The Blakes lived on the estate until 1738, when they moved to nearby Tillmouth Hall.
The Unfinished Gothic Mansion, c.1770-1882
From about 1770 a later Sir Francis Blake, who died in 1780, worked at recreating the castle as a Gothic Revival mansion, designed by the architect James Nesbit of Kelso to stand five levels tall. Some forty years of building never brought the project to completion.
When the Blakes built a new mansion at Tillmouth Park in 1882, much of the incomplete Twizell Castle was demolished and its stone used in the new house or sold. The house is now a two-storey folly, rectangular in plan, with circular towers on the angles and two wings on the north side, its basement rooms in the main block stone and brick-vaulted as a precaution against fire.
Scheduled in 1969, At Risk in 2008
The site was made a scheduled ancient monument on 22 December 1969 and the building is listed Grade II*. Of the medieval structure, blocked windows, a chamfered doorway and the original north-east angle quoins are all that stays visible. The gardens hold the earthwork remains of the deserted medieval village of Twizell.
The property is in poor order, and has been on the English Heritage Heritage at Risk Register since 2008. It lies in Duddo, in Northumberland, and can be seen from the public footpath that passes it from the road.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1800.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Twizell Castle, including 3 interiors: new chamber and adjoining gallery (interior), chambers in a circular corner tower (interior), stone and brick‑vaulted basement rooms. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Twizell Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1800, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Defend this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Twizell Castle.
The families that held Twizell Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Heron
Sir John Heron held the medieval tower house in 1415; the Herons sold the estate c. 1520.
Selby
Held by the Selby family from c. 1520 until 1685, when the widow Selby sold it to Sir Francis Blake.
Blake
Held by the Blakes from 1685; they began the Gothic Revival castle c. 1770 and demolished much of it for their new Tillmouth Park mansion in 1882.
