Blenkinsopp Castle
Blenkinsopp Castle
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Blenkinsopp Castle

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Blenkinsopp Castle

Blenkinsopp Castle (spelled Blenkinsop in many records) is a fire-damaged, partly demolished 19th-century country mansion, incorporating the ruinous remains of a 14th-century tower house, which is located above the Tipalt Burn approximately one mile south of Greenhead, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade II listed building; it is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument as one of the "surviving tower houses retaining significant medieval remains".

Blenkinsopp seems to originate in the early medieval Cumbric language, probably as blaen 'top' + kein 'back, ridge' (thus 'top of the ridge'). To this was later added the Old English element hōp 'valley'. However, other theories, stating that the name "Blenkinsopp" was derived from the village of Blencarn have been proposed.

The ancient manor of Blenkinsopp was held by the Blenkinsopp family from the 13th century, and they created a substantial tower house. Some records indicate that it was built in 1339. A licence to crenellate the house was granted on 6 May 1340. It was being fortified to help protect the border.

County records from the reign of Henry III (1207–1272) state that the land where the castle would later be built was owned by Ralph Blenkinsop during that era; there was no indication of any buildings on the site at that time.

An early account by Wallis, writing prior to 1769 and quoted by Rev. J. F. Hodgson, found:

the west and north-west side of it protected by a very high cespititious wall and a deep foss – a vault going through it, north and south, 33 feet in length, and in breadth 18½ feet: two lesser ones on the north side. The facing on the western wall has been down beyond the memory of any person yet living.

A survey of 1541 reported the roof to be in decay and the tower not to be in good repair. The family, whilst retaining ownership, granted possession to the Earl of Northumberland, and abandoned the castle for their other nearby properties to the east at Bellister Castle and Blenkinsop Hall.

In 1727, the heiress Jane Blenkinsopp married William Coulson of Jesmond. By 1832, the property was in disuse, and a mine agent's house was built adjoining the ruinous structure, probably by the architect John Dobson.

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