HAREWOOD CASTLE

West Riding of Yorkshire

Harewood Castle stands in the grounds of Harewood House which is open to the public - the Castle, however, is not accessible standing as it does the best part of a mile from the house.

It is currently undergoing rennovation by English Heritage which is at a very early stage, but perhaps when it has been fully restored it will be publicly accessible.

It stands on sloping ground (enabling it to possess a strange cellar-kitchen) and is in quite good condition aside from being badly overgrown.  It is a large tower house built around 1367 when Sir William Aldburgh receive licence to crenellate.  It would appear to have not been altered very much over the ensuing centuries.

The Castle was bequeathed equally between Sir William's daughters and so for two centuries the Castle was owned by two families; the Redmans and the Rythers - a rather peculiar arrangement.

As usual it was the Civil War which saw the Castle half demolished and from there on in the focus at Harewood was the new house, leaving the Castle to crumble.

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2018