Dally Castle

Dally Castle is a ruined 13th-century motte-and-bailey fortress in Northumberland, standing on a narrow ridge above the Chirdon Burn. It lies four miles west of Bellingham on a tributary of the North Tyne. Nearby stands an 18th-century house and, across the road, a small flour mill used during the Napoleonic War. The castle once had two storeys and corner turrets, but only foundations remain today. Its stones were taken to build the mill, leaving little visible masonry. The site has a tragic legend: the owner’s sister fell in love with her brother’s enemy, Gilbert of Tarset. When discovered, Gilbert was chased to Hareshaw Common and killed, and the spot is still called Gib’s Cross. The castle was probably built in 1237, though its history is poorly recorded. By the 16th century it was already a ruin, and later stones were removed for other buildings. Excavations in 1888 uncovered remains, including a rare Early English chimney head. Visitors see the remains of a large oblong block with thick walls and blocked arrow slits. The north-west turret still shows signs of a fireplace and mural stair. A low mound east of the ditch holds traces of further masonry. The ridge itself is cut by two gaps, one of which isolates the castle’s position. The surrounding valley is quiet, with only the mill and an 18th-century house nearby. The landscape offers a sense of the castle’s strategic height above the burn.