Brancepeth Castle Brancepeth Caste, four miles southwest of Durham, was the initial chair from the effective Neville family. It's first pointed out throughout the Magna Carta war of 1216. In outline, the castle may go as far back for this period but nothing now standing is the fact that old. The castle is comparable architecturally with a of their late fourteenth century neighbors within the county and also the repairing is credited to Rob Neville, first Earl of Westmoreland, after Raby was complete. Regrettably his stronghold continues to be exposed to radical modifications. From 1818 there is huge-handed restoration in neo-Norman style underneath the architect John Paterson, whose uninspired work continues to be justly belittled. The finish outcome is a castle, that is a mishmash of original and sham features, best seen from the distance. Nonetheless, a great deal of medieval masonry has made it and also the contrast between your old and also the new is clearly apparent. The castle can be found on the rise looking over the Stockley Beck. It's a large, irregular enclosure encircled with a strong curtain. The curtain looks complete, however, many portions happen to be reconstructed. Paterson erected the current round-towered gatehouse on the website from the original. The majority of the mural towers are authentic and also have experienced comparatively little interference. These massive, oblong structures are unusual for that diagonal buttresses gripping their outer corners. Proceeding clockwise in the gatehouse, we pass the Westmoreland and Constable towers, that have turrets instead of buttresses. Next comes the Russell Tower, a Paterson insertion, then three carefully spread towers that contains vaulted chambers (such as the so-known as Barons' Hall in Bulmer's Tower). These 3 towers were connected to the primary residential flats, however the structures, which now lean from the curtain about this side, are entirely from the nineteenth century. The curtain returns towards the gatehouse via two small turrets.