Beaufront Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Turris de Bewfronte; bello fronte; Befront; Befron

In the civil parish of Sandhoe.
In the historic county of Northumberland.
Modern Authority of Northumberland.
1974 county of Northumberland.
Medieval County of Northumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY96396595
Latitude 54.98811° Longitude -2.05786°

Beaufront Castle has been described as a certain Pele Tower.

There are no visible remains.

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*.

Description

Country House, 1836-1841 by John Dobson for William Cuthbert, incorporating part of late C17 mansion of the Errington family, on medieval site (Listed Building Report)

A list dated 1415 refers to a tower at Beaufront (Bates 1891).
Beaufront Castle stands on the site of the tower of Beaufront, mentioned in 1415, and styled a manor in 1547. In 1587 the estate was sold to the Erringtons who made it their chief residence. The present house, in the domestic castellated style, was built in 1841, but the kitchens and rooms above are 17th C. and the clock tower bell is inscribed '1694' (Hodgson 1897).
A large private residence surrounded by extensive ornamental grounds, the site commands extensive views to the S.E. & W. along the R. Tyne Valley. The ground and first floor of the N.E. wing of domestic offices are the sole visible remains of the 17th C. building, all the windows within this portion are modern insertions. There is no structural evidence for the pre 1415 tower (F1 FDC 23.5.56).
It is assumed that the tower house was built by John de Errington circa 1380. The tower was incorporated into a new mansion in 1586, but apparently disappeared when the present building was completed in 1841 (Dodds 1999). (PastScape)

Beaufront Castle was first recorded as a tower in 1415. In 1587 it was sold to the Errington family who made it their main house. The present house was built in 1841, though it includes earlier remains. (Keys to the Past)

Comments

John Errington was married to Elizabeth de Vaux who was the heiress of Beaufront (although the Vaux were tenants of Hexham Priory) but the Errington family did not obtain the estate in their own right until 1587. It is unclear to Gatehouse on what evidence Dodds (1999) suggests a construction date of 1380 although this is not improbable. The form of the turris recorded in 1415 is not known but the gentry status of the family and their tenant status for this property probably suggest a solar tower attached to an unfortified hall rather than a grand tower house or castle. The current castle name is modern and, presuambly, dates to the construction of the C19 castellated house.

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1043009
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 18212.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) N8652.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- North of the Tyne
Books
- Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Newcastle upon Tyne: Keepdate Publishing) p. 450-1
  Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 22
  Rowland, T.H., 1987 (reprint1994), Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p. 6, 46, 53
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 345
  Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p. 55
  Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p. 60
  Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1897, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 4 p. 198-205 online copy
  Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p. 18 (Also published as the whole of volume 14 (series 2) of Archaeologia Aeliana view online)
  Hodgson, J., 1820, History of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Part 3 Vol. 1 p. 29 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Jabkson-Stops, G., 1976 Feb 12, Country Life p. 342-5
  Jabkson-Stops, G., 1976 Feb 5, Country Life p. 286-9
  Hadcock, R.N., 1939, 'A map of mediaeval Northumberland and Durham' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser4) Vol. 16 p. 148-218 esp 171
  Bates, C.J., 1891, 'Border Holds of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana (ser2) Vol. 14 p. 18 online copy
Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
- 1415, Nomina Castrorum et Fortaliciorum infra Comitatum Northumbrie online transcription
  Hinds, Allen B. (ed), 1896, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol. 3 p. 83 online copy

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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