Lambton castle © DCC 2007


Lambton Castle 2005


Lambton Castle 2005

Lambton Castle was constructed on the site of the former Harraton Hall, and designed by Ignatius Bonomi for 'Radical Jack' Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham. Its features include towers and turrets, a buttressed hall and curtain walls set amid sweeping lawns. The original castle was dismantled in 1797, and the existing building constructed in 1833. Parts of the design may have been influenced by nearby Brancepeth Castle, and on the octagonal Guy's Tower at Warwick Castle. Underlying coal seams threatened the castle with collapse, and various shoring works took place. In 1865 part of the castle was dismantled and replaced by a great hall and various other additions, but this became unmanageable, and in 1932 many of the additions were demolished.