Widdrington Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the site of a former medieval tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

 and castle at Widdrington

Widdrington Station and Stobswood

Widdrington Station is a village in the county of Northumberland, England. It has about 2300 residents. As its name suggests it has a railway station which is on the East Coast Main Line. It is located about north east of Morpeth, the county town...

, Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 of which only earthworks now remain. The location is within a mile or so of the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

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The property was owned by the Widdrington family from the 12th century. In 1341 Gerard Widdrington was granted a licence to crenellate the house, which was later rebuilt in the early 17th century as a manor house. Engravings show a substantial tower with bartizans (projecting turrets) at the corners, similar to the surviving structure at nearby Belsay Castle

Belsay Castle

Belsay Castle is a 14th century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building....

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William Widdrington

William Widdrington, 1st Baron Widdrington

Sir William Widdrington , of Widdrington, Northumberland, was created 1st Baron Widdrington of Blankney in the Peerage of England on 2 November 1643.He was the son and heir of Sir Henry Widdrington of Widdrington Sir William Widdrington (1610 – 3 September 1651), of Widdrington,...

 married the heiress of Blankney Hall, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 in 1643 and the castle ceased to be the main family residence.

The estates of a later William Widdrington

William Widdrington, 4th Baron Widdrington

Baron William Widdrington succeeded to the title 4th Baron Widdrington of Blankney on the death of his father in 1695....

 were sequestrated, and sold by the Crown, as a result of his attainder for treason for his part in the Jacobite uprising

Jacobite rising

The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...

of 1715. The castle was reported to be in a ruinous condition in 1720.

New owners began a rebuild in 1772 but the structure was destroyed by fire. A second attempt at reconstruction was more successful but the new Gothic-style castle was demolished in 1862.