(NY 84098328) Bellingham Castle (C.T.) (Site of). (1)

The castle and manor of Bellingham gave name to an ancient family and was held by Robert De Bellingham and Richard II (1379) and Henry IV (1401) and by Richard De Bellingham and Henry VI (1455). The castle, which stood near the village, is now in ruins. (2)

The artificial mound at the east end of Bellingham village, nearly opposite the railway station, is all that remains of the Motte and bailey castle, built in all probability by the Bellingham family in the early 12th century. All traces of a stone castle which must have existed by the late 13th century have disappeared, leaving only the mound. (3)

All traces of the masonry of the castle at Bellingham have now disappeared. Its presumed site is marked by a mound near the Hareshaw Burn and this may be the motte of a motte-and-bailey fortress, built either during Stephen's reign, or at an earlier date. (4)

A grass covered mound, irregular in shape situated at 400ft O.D. on the highest point in a pasture covered field. General visibility is excellent along the valley of the North Tyne to the east and west, but the site is overlooked by higher ground to the immediate north east.
A small mound exists on top of the main feature, the truncated top of this mound measures only 2m in diameter, and cannot have held a tower of any substantial dimensions.
There are no traces of extant stone work or defensive ditches, a wide perambulation revealed no indication of a bailey.
Modern building encroaches upon the site to the north-east and east and the adjacent pasture bears strong rig and furrow plough lines. (5)

Apart from its truncated top, which has been reduced in size by obviously later digging on the south east side, the small mound (at NY 84088328) appears to be an entirely natural feature. Its slopes merge smoothly on all sides with those of the hill-feature on which it stands. It is possible that the mound supported a tower, but it appears unlikely to have been the motte of a motte-and-bailey, due to the lack of an adequate site for a bailey. To the immediate west is a steep scarp, which appears to have been created by former river action, to the south and south east the ground also falls away, while to the north east the site is overlooked by higher ground. (6)

As described in reports of 9.7.56 and 23.9.70. (7)

The existence of a castle or manorial house in Bellingham in the early 13th century is suggested by the fact that William de Bellingham, sheriff of Tynedale and forester of Tynedale under the king of Scotland, was seated at Bellingham. (8)

The Bellinghams' possession of the manor was questioned during the reign of Henry III (1216-72). The manor appears to have been held, at least in part, by the Bellinghams. (9)

A watching brief in 2010, on a site adjacent to the castle site, found no evidence of Bellingham Castle and established that the mound was a natural hill composed of glacial deposits. (10)

Listed by Cathcart King. (11a)

A fortified site at Bellingham did not exist at Bellingham before 1157, when the Scottish kings were granted Tynedale as a liberty. By 1180 enough people lived there to justify a church, and in 1250 it became manorial capital. By that time, Bellingham was granted to the Scottish King Alexander III's forester, who styled himself `Bellyngiam of Bellyngiam', and lived in a motte and bailey there. Sir William de Bellingham lost possession at the end of the century, and moved his main residence to Burniside, the motte and bailey being deserted. (11b)