Bothal Castle

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Bothal Castle is a castle and large house in the village of Bothal, Northumberland, England, near the River Wansbeck between Morpeth and Ashington. The name Bothal comes from Old English and means a dwelling. The place was fortified before the Norman Conquest and has been rebuilt many times. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building.

Historically, in 1095 King William Rufus gave Bothal to Guy I de Balliol. His descendants included Alice, who married William Bertram, Baron of Mitford, who probably built a hall. In 1343 Sir Robert Bertram was allowed to turn the manor into a castle with a gatehouse, and parts of the gate tower and curtain wall still survive. The estate passed to the Ogle family in the 14th century through the marriage of Bertram’s daughter Hellen to Sir Robert Ogle. After Lord Ogle died in 1562, an inventory noted items like bed hangings and painted cloths. In 1583 Cuthbert Ogle arranged his daughter Jane’s marriage to Edward Talbot. In 1591 the estate came to the Cavendish-Bentinck family (Dukes of Portland) when Catherine, Countess of Ogle, married Sir Charles Cavendish. King James I stayed there in 1617. The house was restored in the 19th century. Today it remains a private residence of the Cavendish-Bentinck family and houses the Welbeck Estate Office. It is well preserved and not open to the public.