RAVENSWORTH CASTLE, NORTH YORKSHIRE
BY PETER F. RYDER

The article was published in The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, Vol. 51, 1979, pp. 81-100.

It is reproduced here by kind permission of Mr Peter Ryder and the Yorkshire Archaeological Society.

The ruins of Ravensworth Castle, the medieval seat of the Fitzhugh family, stand at the south end of the village of Ravensworth, 5 miles north-north-west of Richmond. The site is somewhat unusual, being a valley floor platform surrounded by an extensive marsh (Fig. 1)*. The remains consist of a fourteenth-century gateway and adjacent tower, and several other fragments of buildings of coeval or later medieval dates, some now in a precarious condition. Documentary and other evidence suggests that the castle was in existence at least two centuries prior to the date of the erection of the surviving structures. The majority of the buildings appear to have been demolished in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, little more than the remaining fragments being visible in the late eighteenth-century. The site has received little attention in recent literature.

HISTORICAL NOTES

There is no record of the original foundation of the castle. The Fitzhugh family, its owners until the sixteenth century, are recorded by Camden as being descended from 'those Saxons who were lords of the place before the Conquest'.[1] The Domesday Survey records the manor of Ravensworth as having been held prior to the Conquest by one Torfin, who held land in 26 places.[2] In 24 of his manors he had been succeeded at the time of the survey by Bodin, whose chief manors were at Ravensworth, Melsonby, Scorton and Patrick Brompton. In his old age Bodin became a monk at St. Mary's Abbey, York, and is said to have instigated his brother Bardulf to give to that monastery the churches of Ravensworth and Patrick Brompton.
The castle continued in the same family throughout the medieval period. Whilst the family were of considerable importance (Akar, d. 1161, being the founder of Jervaulx Abbey, in which many of the Fitzhughs were buried), the castle itself figures in few records, although a visit by King John in 1201 is noted. Henry, son of Hugh, in the reign of Edward III, was the first of the family to assume the name Fitzhugh. His son Henry, Lord Fitzhugh, travelled widely, attending Henry V in his wars in France, and visiting Jerusalem and Cairo. In 1391 he received licence to enclose 200 acres of land around the castle as a park, or as an extension to an existing park. The architecture of the surviving buildings suggests that his activities at this time may have included a rebuilding of the castle itself. He died at Ravensworth on 11 January 1424 and was interred at Jervaulx.
A chantry within the castle chapel (itself dedicated to St. John the Apostle) was founded in 1467 by the sixth baron Fitzhugh (another Henry), whose travels again included a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The chantry was dedicated to St. Giles and two priests were engaged to sing daily for the welfare of the founder and Alesia his wife during their life for that of their souls afterwards, and also for the souls of the founders and benefactors of the Hospital of St. Giles near Brompton on Swale.[4]
The long line of Fitzhughs finally came to an end in 1512 with the death without issue of George, the eighth baron. The estate was divided between his aunt Alicia, wife of Sir John Fiennes, and his cousin Thomas Parr, lord of Kendal, who took Ravensworth in part share of his inheritance. His son William, later Lord Parr and Earl of Essex, died without issue in 1571 and his estates passed to the Crown.
In the mid-sixteenth century, during the ownership of Lord Parr, the antiquary Leland visited Ravensworth and noted 'the castle, excepting two or three towers, and a faire stable, with a conduct coming to the hall side, had no thing memorable'.[5] From this comment Whitaker conjectures that the buildings were already in a state of decay and that only two or three towers of an original eight remained standing.[6]
Half a century later, when the site was held by the Crown, the castle was certainly in a state of advanced decay. Camden commens 'Ravensworth Castle rears its head with a large extent of ruined walls'. Plantagenet Harrison reprints a document of 1608 relevant to this period in the decay of the castle: 'Special Commission, 5 Jas. 1., touching the Manor and Castle of Ravensworth. On the 14th April, 5 Jas. 1., James Foster of Ravensworth, aged sixty years, was examined, and deposed that within these last six years there were ten wayne loade of stone carried from the castle of Ravensworth, some of them piked fiorth of the walles of the said castle, and some of them pulled furth of the gate-howse tower, which stones were carried away by Sir Francis Boynton's men, James Ponsonby being the bailiff of the manor; and he saith that there hath been divers stones cast down from the gate-howse tower by said Ponsonby's brother and by him the said Ponsonby, and converted to his own use; and he further saith that divers persons at divers and sundry times have taken and carried away stones from the said castle without leave or asking, but what will repair the damages made in the said castle by the said Ponsonby he cannot depose; he also stated that many trees had been cut down and taken away, etc. Several other witnesses deposed to the same effect as the above.'[7]
In 1629 the castle was granted to Edward Dichfield and other trustees. The ruins evidently continued to be used as a convenient stone quarry over the next two centuries. Grose gives a print (Fig. 4) of what is evidently the castle chapel, noting that most of the structure had been pulled down prior to the date of his other illustration of the ruins (1784).[8] This destruction had been occasioned by the local incumbent requiring materials to repair a tithe barn. The later print published by Grose shows the ruins in a state not far removed from their present contidtion (Fig. 3). The several scattered upstanding fragments of buildings which he shows all remain today, at least in part. The upper part of the Belfry Tower and portions of the south-west and south-east towers all seem to have fallen in the early years of the present century.
Descriptions of the castle remains in nineteenth and twentieth-century literature are generally brief, and on the whole the site has received little notice. Illingworth allows Ravensworth the briefest of paragraphs, classing it as an 'obscure castle', which is hardly the case.[9] Grange and the Victoria County History both give slightly more extended descriptions of the ruins,[10] but both these accounts are sadly confused in parts. Grange describes the structure referred to in this paper as the south-east tower (in fact near the southernmost point of the castle platform) as being at the north-east corner. The Victoria County History refers to the same building as being 'near the SW angle of the court'. The more recent note on the site by Pevsner misquotes Grange as stating that the inscription round the Belfry Tower ran 'round the outside wall of the castle'.[11]

THE SITUATION OF THE CASTLE

The village of Ravensworth, surrounding a large green with the base of a medieval cross in its centre, stands on a low hill of glacial drift which rises 6-7.5 m. above the marshy floor of the Holme Beck valley. Between the village and the foot of the valley side to the south is a further low-lying marshy flat, separated from the main valley floor by two necks of slightly higher land connecting the valley side and the hill on which the village stands. The marshy flat between them occupies an enclosed depression (well shown by the 400 ft. contour on the Ordnance Survey 6 in. to 1 mile map), and the two necks both carry roads and also the remains of the Park Wall, the boundary of Henry Fitzhugh's hunting park. The broader eastern ridge is a natural feature, but the slight mound to the west of the marshy flat appears to be at least partly artificial (see 'Outlying Earthworks').
The castle itself stands on a well-defined raised platform near the north side of this enclosed shallow basin, which despite modern attempts at drainage is swampy and in winter holds considerable areas of standing water. The castle platform, which appears to be at least partly artificial, is in plan roughly rectangular, its longer axis north-east to south-west, the greatest length being c. 137 m. and the width up to 67 m. The south-west end of the platform is curved, or roughly apsidal. The majority of the area is elevated 3 m.-4 m. above the surrounding marsh.
The castle has been approached from the north, where the higher ground on which the village stands approaches the site. The slightly raised line of the approached road from the corner of the village green to the castle gateway is still quite well defined.

The Castle Site

Earthworks of the Castle Platform (Fig. 5)
The platform on which the ruins stand is steeply scarped on all sides, dropping to the flat marshland which surrounds the site. Only around the north angle of the platform has adjacent higher ground necessitated the cutting of a ditch, 20 m. wide and flat floored. South-east of the angle this widens rapidly into another expanse of marsh bounded to the north by a scarp which appears to be an artificial steepening of a natural slope, south-west of the angle the ditch has evidently been spanned by a bridge taking the approach road to the castle gateway - a stony mound, evidently formerly revetted in masonry, represents its outer abutment. Beyond this, with the natural southward fall of the ground, the ditch rapidly dies away.
There are remains of a slight counterscarp bank roughly paralleling much of the perimeter of the platform. This bank now stands little more than 0.3 m. above the surrounding marsh, but is conspicuous due to the contrast between its turf and the adjacent reeds and marshland grasses. The position of this bank varies between 6 m. and 12 m. from the foot of the platform, and three stretches of it remain, around the east corner, along the southern half of the south-east front, and along the western half of the north-west front.
Within the area of the platform the ground is broken by a variety of small hummocks, ridges and depressions, marking the buried foundations of buildings and the lines of robber trenches. The only evidence for earthworks on a larger scale in this area is seen in two large hollows which may have formed parts of a ditch (later partly filled in) running north-west to south-east and separating the north-eastern third of the platform from the remainder.
The highest point on the site - 4.9 m. above the marsh, and c. 2 m. above the majority of the platform - is a mound situated on the north-west side of the area just west of the north-west end of the internal ditch.

STRUCTURAL REMAINS

The fourteenth-century castle appears to have consisted of a curtain wall surrounding the platform, linking a series of towers. Whitaker asserts that there were originally eight principal towers, all square, but provides no evidence for this statement.[12] Remains of three rectangular towers still stand - at the north corner (the Gateway Tower), towards the west end of the north-west front (the South-West Tower) and towards the south end of the south-east front (the South-East Tower). A squarish platform a few metres south-west of the east corner suggests the position of a fourth tower.
Whitaker also states that the castle consisted of three parallelograms surrounded by buildings. The foundation mounds and fragmentary remains of structures still extant within the area do appear to back this up, and such an arrangement is indicated on the 1857 O.S. 6 in. map. The north-east 'third' of the platform seems to have been divided into two by a north-east to south-west range, and the larger south-western section of the site appears to have had a larger 'courtyard' area, with ranges to the north-east, south-east and south-west, the latter running between the South-West Tower and the South-East Tower. South-west of this range was another 'open' area (i.e. one that today shows little evidence of either foundations or robber trenches), in the apsidal end of the platform.
In the following description the curtain wall and towers are dealt with first, and then the various internal buildings.

The Curtain Wall
There are virtually no remains of the curtain, apart from the stup ends where it abutted on the Gateway and South-West Towers, and a solitary featureless fragment near the centre of the south-east front. The wall does not appear to have been very substantial, the fragment adjoining the South-West Tower being 1.07 m. in thickness and 3.96 m. high to the level of the wall walk. One coped parapet stone remains in place here showing the total height of the wall to have been 5.8 m.
There appears to have been no access to the wall walk of the north-west curtain from either the South-West or the Gateway Tower. Access to the wall walk of the north-east curtain was probably gained from the external stair which also served the first floor of the Gateway Tower.
The line of much of the curtain is marked by a small terrace, in places developing into an elongate depression, running along the platform edge just below the scarp top. This appears to represent the excavations of stone robbers removing the wall footings.

The Gateway Tower (Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8, Fig.9)
This is the most complete part of the castle, the walls of the tower, at the north angle of the site, standing virtually to full height. The arch of the adjacent gateway, to the south-west, also remains intact.
The tower is of three storeys (the floors having been of wood, their beam holes remaining), 5.2 m. square internally, and with walls a little over 1.5 m. thick. The north-west curtain abutted on the south-west face of the tower, and greater part of which projected beyond its line, thus covering the adjacent gateway. The north-east curtain appears to have continued the line of the north-east face of the tower.
The east half of the north-east elevation of the tower was covered by a broad buttress-like projection housing garderobes, now partly collapsed. At the north angle of the tower are a pair of stepped buttresses, and single buttresses, now partly fallen away, projected south-east at the east angle (above the line of the north-east curtain) and north-west at the west angle.
The lower part of the south-west face of the tower, outside the line of the curtain, seems to have been covered by some sort of projection, now fallen away. The indications remaining suggest that this has been merely a thickening of the lower part of the wall, with a sloping top at just below the level of the parapet of the curtain. The toothing of the junction of the curtain wall with this face of the tower extends to almost double the assumed height of the curtain (one parapet stone of which remains, in fact showing its height to have been similar to that at its junction with the South-West Tower). This toothing most probably indicates the position of a buttress above the curtain wall, as at the east angle.
The south-east face of the tower, the only elevation presented completely to the interior of the castle, contains both the entrance to the tower's ground floor and the reamins of an external stair which gave access to the first floor and probably also the wall walk of the north-east curtain. Little of the stair remains beyond a projecting mass of rubble core.
The ground floor of the tower is entered by a doorway in the south-east wall with a shouldered arch of one continuous swelled chamfer, and is lit by one single square-headed light to the north-east and a cruciform loop to the north-west. In the north angle is a fireplace set diagonally to the adjacent walls, similar to the better preserved example at second floor level. At the east end of the north-east wall a square-headed door opens into the base of the garderobe turret, now half fallen away (Grange states that a 'winding stone staircase' here led to first floor level, but there seems no evidence for this supposition, which probably derives from the curve of the wall - suggesting a spiral stair - of the remaining portion of the garderobe passage at first floor level).[13]
The first floor of the tower is entered from the head of the external stair by a shouldered arch similar to that at ground floor level. In the thickness of the wall here, to the right, is the remaining section of the garderobe passage mentioned above (one stone of the seat bench remains, projecting from the wall), and to the left is a steep mural stair rising to second floor level. This floor is again lit by a square-headed loop to the north-east and to the north-west by a mutilated cruciform loop. However, on this floor, the fireplace, a simple square-headed recess, is at the west end of the north-west wall, and to the south-east there is an additional window, of a single trefoil-headed light under a pointed arch. At the east end of the north-east wall, internally, there is a shallow square-headed recess of uncertain purpose.
The second floor of the tower is reached by a mural stair (lit by a single tiny loop) which rises to a square-headed door at the south end of the south-east wall. The stair evidently continued upwards as a newel in the south angle of the tower, but only part of the curved inner face of the stairwell remains, in a very precarious condition in summer 1976. The second floor is lit to the north-west by a third cruciform loop, and to the north-east by a single light window, in this case with a trefoiled head beneath a pointed arch. To the south-east is a larger window formerly of two trefoil-headed lights (the mullion is now missing), with remains of window seats cut from the lower part of the internal jambs. In the internal face of the south-west wall at this level is a single straight joint in the masonry of uncertain origin. The fireplace is again set diagonally in the north angle of the room, and has a shouldered lintel and a sill carried on corbelling. The chimney for the two fireplaces in this angle is evidently carried up the interior of the turret which crowns the angle.
Although the walls of the tower appear to stand to almost their full height, there are no apparent remains of a wall walk or parapet. Square turrets remain above the north and east angles of the tower, and may have originally existed at all four corners - a turret on the southern angle would have carried the head of the newel stair.
The entire structure of the Gateway Tower appears, from its architectural details, to be of fourteenth-century date. However, an earlier date is suggested by an interesting feature which can be seen externally at the foot of the north angle of the tower. The lowest courses of masonry here rest on the footings of a curving wall, the line of which appears to be roughly following the corner of the castle platform. The outer parts of the pair of stepped buttresses here project beyond the face of the curving wall, and have been provided with separate foundation courses (now falling away). The line of the underlying wall can be followed for a few feet on either side of the corner of the tower, and to the south-east it appears to curve round to follow a line a metre or so outside that of the north-east face of the tower, a line which a few metres further on is taken up by the edge of the castle platform.
This curving wall is a problematical feature, and appears to pre-date the fourteenth-century tower. Only one course of masonry - well dressed and squared ashlar - is exposed, and no dating is possible without excavation.

The Gateway
The Gateway adjoins the Gateway Tower to the south-west, and consists of a single arch 3.13 m. wide. The arch is four centred, and externally of two continuous orders, the outer chamfered and the inner of a quarter-round moulding, with a mutilated external hoodmould which terminates in defaced shields. The inner face of the arch has fallen, but the jambs remain, showing a portcullis groove.

The South-West Tower
The V.C.H. describes this section of the remains as '...the south-west angle, where a fine section of wall 45 ft. long remains in position; this appears to have been a projecting bastion, for a section of wall 7 ft. long forms an angle with it at the north end, and at the south end the angle is complete to where the wall turned east, as the moat indicates. This wall has a drain opening into the moat and two small round openings splayed within, perhaps for a similar purpose.' [14]
The 'fine section of wall 45 ft. (13.7 m.) long' was the west wall of the tower. Unfortunately since the V.C.H. account was written this has collapsed outwards, and now lies - large sections of masonry remaining intact - across the area between the platform edge scarp and the small counterscarp bank. The foundations of the wall do remain in situ, but no evidence of the drain and small openings can now be seen. Part of the north wall of the tower (the 'section of wall 7 ft. (2.13 m.) long') remains standing, to a height of 10.1 m., and displays some interesting features.
The north face of the tower has evidently projected 1.8 m. beyond the line of the curtain, the stub end of which remains (see above). Just outside the line of the curtain, and 0.3 m. above present ground level, is a small circular opening, widely splayed internally - perhaps a gun loop, covering the face of the north-east curtain.
At first floor level, at the east end of the remaining fragment of wall, is the double chamfered jamb of a large window, two voussoirs of the outer order of the arch remaining. A fragment of window tracery, evidence that the window was of two or more lights, with pierced spandrels, remained in position a few years ago, but has now fallen and lies at the base of the wall.
The internal dimensions of the tower appear to have been 10.4 m. north-south by perhaps 6.1 m. east-west, the latter being an estimate based on the position of the mound which presumably covers the foundations of the east wall.

The South-East Tower
Only the outer (south-east) wall of this tower remains, with the adjoining ends of the north-east and south-west walls. The internal north-east to south-west dimension is 7.16 m., the north-west to south-east measurement not being obtainable without excavation, there being no visible evidence of the position of the north-west wall.
The south-east wall has a chamfered plinth externally, and a few massive quoins (the lower part of the wall has been stripped of its facing) remain at the south angle, which still stands to a height of 3.6 m. Until relatively recently this wall stood considerably higher, and contained, to again quote the V.C.H., 'a square window of some size, facing east'. The eighteenth-century print of the chapel ruins reproduced by Grose also shows this wall, with the rear arch of the window, a four-centred arch of considerable size. The wall above is shown as obscured by ivy, but standing to a height of between 6 m. and 9 m. [15]
The upper parts of this wall (as with the west wall of the South-West Tower) are now represented by a scatter of massive fragments of masonry across the platform edge scarp and the ditch beyond. Sections of the jambs and the springing of the rear arch of the window are still apparent. Other large pieces of fallen masonry, now grass and moss covered, now lie inside the remaining fragment of the tower.

The Internal Buildings

The Entrance Court
This is a term of convenience to refer to the north-eastern third of the castle platform, the area first reached on passing through the Gateway, and separated from the remainder of the castle area by the two sections of internal ditch. Apart from the Gateway and Gateway Tower no masonry remains above ground in this area. The most prominent foundation mounds in the area are a group south-west of the Gateway, which may represent a range of buildings backing onto the curtain, or just possibly another tower. Other linear mounds appear to represent a long building backing the north-east curtain (an irregular trapezium in plan, widening towards its south-east end), and the line of a wall running south-west from the north-west end of this structure, perhaps forming the division between two of the 'parallelograms surrounded by buildings' postulated by Whitaker. There are also indications of other structures backing the south-east curtain, including the squarish platform mentioned above which may represent another tower.

The Southern Court
The area south-west of the internal ditch seems to have consisted of an open area or court bounded by buildings on at least three sides.

The North-East Range
This appears to have consisted of a single long rectangular building, externally 32 m. by 9.3 m., the north-west gable of which still stands to almost its full height. Sections of the lower parts of its north-east, south-west and south-east walls also remain, including the southern angle. Grange describes this building as 'somewhat like a broken down barn, in shape', whilst Bogg confidently asserts it to have been the Great Hall.[16]
The north-west gable contains the centrally placed openings, the lower merely a ragged hole in the wall (whether originally a door or a window it is difficult to say), the upper a square headed window, sections of the internal jambs of which survive.
The absence of decorative features, and the rough nature of the masonry of which this building is constructed make Bogg's identification seem very unlikely. The structure may conceivably be Leland's 'faire stable', although Grange, without stating his grounds, identifies this with the South-West Tower.

The South-East Range
Only one small but interesting fragment of building survives here, a small tower generally referred to (e.g. on the O.S. 6 in:1 mile map) as 'The Belfry'.
The earlier of the two prints given by Grose show the buildings of this range in a much more complete condition. The structure he shows has the appearance of a chapel, with its liturgical 'east' end in fact facing north-east. There appears to have been an aisle or chapel on the 'north' side of the main body of the building, with the Belfry Tower standing at the 'west' end of the aisle. The 'east' window of the building is shown as being of three cinquefoil headed lights under a depressed arch.
Nothing now remains visible above the turf of any building apart from the Belfry Tower, and there are not even any evidences of foundation mounds or robber trenches, from which the rough dimensions of the building could be ascertained.
The Belfry Tower is a small rectangular structure showing several puzzling features. The tower was originally of three stages, the lower being 2.33 m. by 1.07 m. internally. Only the north-west and south-west walls now stand to any height.
The lower stage of the tower is entered from the north-west by a tall and narrow arch with a flat pointed head, a chamfered set back midway up each jamb resulting in the upper part of the arch being wider than the lower. A continuous chamfer is carried around the head and jambs of the arch. There is no trace remaining of any other opening in the walls of the lower stage, but the north-east and part of the south-east walls are ruined almost to ground level, and presumably there was originally some sort of opening in one of these communicating with the body of the chapel. The chamfered set back in teh south-west jamb of the entrance arch is carried back along the interior of the south-west wall for about half the length of the wall, ending abruptly at a sudden change in the masonry, from squared ashlar to rubble. The lower part of the north-east jamb of the entrance arch is also of rubble.
The second stage of the tower has consisted of a single small room, floored by stone slabs (one survives) carried on an internal set back. On the south-west is a small rectangular window, deeply splayed internally and with hollow-chamfered jambs, sill and head externally. At the north-west end of the north-east wall a larger rectangular opening is shown on Grose's earlier print (his later and more distant view shows a window here of two lights under a rounded arch, which seems unlikely). One stone of the north west jamb of this opening survives in place, chamfered externally and rebated internally. The position of this opening suggests that it may have been a small doorway giving access to the roof of the aisle or side chapel on the 'north' side of the chapel.
The floor of the third stage of the tower has again been carried on a internal set back. 0.3 m. above this, externally, there has been a chamfered string course with a set back above, just below the sills of the windows which lit this stage of the tower to the north-east, north-west and south-west. Each window appears to have consisted of two lights with trefoiled ogee heads, with a quatrefoiled piercing in the spandrel, the whole being contained under a semicircular (?) arch. Externally, just below the string course, the tower has been encircled by an inscription, which Grange read as:

'Chr[istu]s d[omi]n[u]s, Ih[esu]s, via, fons et origo, alpha et omega'.

Grose's prints show the third stage of the tower as more or less intact, although suspended precariously above the void caused by the collapse, or removal, of the lower parts of the east angle of the tower. Grange, almost a century later, states that two of the two-light windows still retained their tracery. Morris - who probably visited the castle in 1902 - mentions that the head tracery of one of the windows still survived.[17] This probably fell shortly after his visit, as the V.C.H. description (published in 1914) finds the entrance arch of the tower the only feature worthy of note.
The north-west and south-west walls of the tower remain, at the time of writing, to the level of the sills of the two light windows, the west angle between these standing a little higher, with sections of the jambs of the windows still in place. Four inscribed blocks remain in place below, and other sections of the inscription, along with fragments of the tracery of the two light windows, now lie scattered on the grass at the foot of the tower.
A building, the ground floor of which has been barrel vaulted, has adjoined the Belfry Tower to the south-west, the toothing of its north-west wall remaining (the line of the wall is indicated by a robber trench). An opening from this vaulted chamber, presumably into the chapel, has been cut diagonally through the southern angle of the tower, and parts of its sill and square head, together with its north-west jamb, remain in place.
The later of Grose's prints (Fig. 4) shows the northern angle of the Belfry Tower as being supported by a pair of buttresses, absent in his earlier view. If this detail is to be relied upon, it suggests the taking of measures to present the collapse of the tower after the removal of the adjacent chapel. The area of rubble masonry in the lower part of the north-east jamb of the entrance arch may be a result of these propping-up operations.
The remaining architectural features of the Belfry Tower, and those of the adjacent chapel depicted in Grose's print (the assumption that the building shown was in fact the castle chapel seems fairly safe, the nature of the inscription on the tower supporting this identification) all suggest a date at least a century later than that of the Gateway and South-West towers. The foundation of the chantry of St. Giles (1467) may have been the occasion of a rebuilding of the chapel. Whitaker argues an even later date for the inscription around the tower, describing it as being in the 'black letter of Henry VIII's time', and suggesting that its style 'plainly indicates that it was the work of some early favourer of the Reformation'. He notes that the Parr family were attached to Protestantism, and concludes that 'the most likely conjecture with respect to the inscription at least is, that it was fixed in its present situation by the direction of Sir William Parr'.
The inscription in fact appears to be coeval with the structure of the tower. The flat pointed entrance arch might well be as late as the sixteenth century, but the two-light windows above would agree more readily in style with the time of the foundation of the chantry.

The South-West Range
Prominent foundation mounds here indicate a range of buildings running south-east from the South-West Tower towards, and perhaps as far as, the South-East Tower. A few courses of one north-east to south-west wall near the south-east end of the range still stand above the turf. This seems to be the most likely situation for the Hall of the castle.
A confused area of depressions and mounds (with one exposed fragment of a wall running at right angles to the curtain) to the north-east of the South-East Tower suggest a further range of buildings backing the curtain wall. Lelands 'conduct' from the stable to the side of the hall might very tentatively be identified as the open space between these buildings and the parallel chapel range.

Outlying Earthworks (Fig. 10)

A series of outlying earthworks to the south and west of the castle platform appear to be associated with the site, although their function is not at all obvious.

(i) The Lower Earthwork
The west and south sides of the field in which the castle ruins are situated follow the line of this earthwork, which also marks the edge of the flat low lying area (a little above 400 ft. O.D.) which surrounds the castle platform.
The west section of this feature appears to have been modified within the last century, the 1857 O.S. 6 in.:1 mile map showing it as then being in a more continuous state than it exists in today. The line of this part of the earthwork, and the road adjacent to its west side, separate the marshy lowland around the castle from the main Holme Beck valley floor. At the north end of this section (the line of which actually runs north-north-east to south-south-west), just south of the playing field of the village school, a section of ditch with a counterscarp bank on its east side flanks the slightly raised ground carrying the road. To the south this ditch soon ends, and the earthwork takes the form of a mound running alongside the road, with a channel along its crest carrying a stream - this flows away westwards beneath the road to join Holme Beck, although considerable leakage takes place eastwards into the marsh. The diversion of this stream into its present channel may be a relatively recent attempt to assist in the drainage of the low lying area around the castle.
The line of the Park Wall (the substantial stone wall surrounding Henry Fitzhugh's park, large sections of which remain) has also evidently followed the line of this section of earthwork, although the wall which now runs alongside the road has been rebuilt and shows little evidence of age. At the south end of this section the Park Wall and road turn away eastwards and north-eastwards respectively, the stream flows in from the south, and the line of the earthwork continues south-south-east across the corner of the field. The next 70 m. of the feature comprise a ditch (still holding water in parts) with a slight counterscarp to the east. The earthwork then turns to run east-south-east, being rejoined by the field boundary, for another 60 m. to a distinct break. Here a very slight ditch heads away north, towards the castle platform, to be lost in the marsh, and the main line turns south for a few metres, before continuing eastward again, the ditch now being on the south side of the field boundary, which follows the slight counterscarp.
A few metres east of the point at which the line of the ditch is crossed by the field boundary (there is a field gate here), the earthwork is joined by a slight but continuous feature, a low rounded bank with a shallow ditch to the east, which runs south up the valley side to join the east end of the Upper Earthwork.
The Lower Earthwork, continuing eastwards, soon peters out into a slight ditch, which begins to curve north-eastwards back towards the fence again, before fading out in a low lying area about 50 m. east of the field gate.

(ii) The Upper Earthwork
The large field to the south of that containing the castle ruins occupies an area of valley side rising c. 20 m. southwards in a horizontal distance of c. 200 m. The slope has a concave profile, and the gently sloping lower part of the field contains a few slight features which are probably artificial, the most notable being a shallow east-west ditch, which runs for c. 45 m. from the west boundary of the field before abruptly terminating. A few metres further east its line is taken up by a slight scarp feature which ends against the north to south bank and ditch connecting the Upper and Lower Earthworks.
The stream which follows the western section of the Lower Earthwork rises at a copious spring near the west end of the field, a dry valley continuing southwards above the spring. If one follows the western boundary of the field south-west up the valley side, a small ditch (which may be recent) is met running alongside the wall. Where the wall angles to run south-eastwards, a more distinct ditch, with a counterscarp on the downhill side, turns to run east, paralleling the contours of the valley side.
This is the commencement of the feature here termed the Upper Earthwork. After 40 m. the ditch meets the dry valley above the large spring, and changes form to an impressive bank crossing the valley. The bank is flat topped, with a long slope running down north-wards to merge in with the natural contours of the hillside, and an almost vertical face to the south, 1.7 m. high, which shows signs of having been revetted in stone. Above the earthwork the dry valley broadens into an almost level area, its west slope appearing to have been artificially scarped (perhaps to provide material for the bank). The whole feature has the appearance of having been a dam containing a considerable body of water. The bank is now breached at its east end, where there is a scatter of large stones.
The line of the Upper Earthwork continues across the hillside east of the dry valley, again changing form to a raised mound with a wide ditch on the downhill side, and a slight ditch (which soon dies out) on the uphill, the total width being up to 14 m. This section continues for c. 80 m., passing a short gap in the mound (which may not be of any great age), before suddenly ending. There is a scatter of boulders in the termination of the ditch, including a sizeable Shap Granite erratic.
From this point a slight sharpening of the natural valley side appears to continue the line of the earthwork eastwards, but this may be a natural feature, perhaps geologically controlled. The slight north-south bank and ditch, mentioned above, run downhill from here to join the Lower Earthwork.

The Original Function of the Earthworks
The outlying earthworks are not easy to interpret. Without excavation it is difficult to determine the date of the various features, and it may be presumptuous to assume a medieval date for them all. The 1857 O.S. 6 in.:1 mile map only shows the Lower Earthwork, although it does depict field boundaries (with line of trees) following the lines of the Upper Earthwork west of the east end of the 'dam', and of the north-south bank which connects the two major earthworks.
The function of the Lower Earthwork (for which a medieval date seems highly likely, from the manner in which it parallels the edge of the castle platform) may well have been to prevent the marshland around the castle from draining westwards, and thus to maintain its efficiency as a defensive feature. There may in fact have been a fairly extensive shallow lake around the castle in the medieval period.
The Upper Earthwork cannot, by reason of its altitude, have had any connectino with the water defences of the castle site. The dam-like feature is puzzling, situated as it is in a dry valley. Its function must have been to create a body of water, the use of which remains a mystery.
The north-south feature running down the hillside is less certainly ancient, and may simply mark the position of a post-medieval field boundary. However, taken with the Upper and Lower Earthworks, and the west boundary of the modern field (with its slight parallel ditch of uncertain date), it does help to delimit a roughly rectangular area containing about 8 acres. This might possibly be associated with a hunting park attached to the castle prior to the embarkment of the larger area of over 200 acres at the close of the fourteenth century.

The Fourteenth-century Park
A full description of the late medieval hunting park, and the extensive remains of its enclosing wall, is beyond the scope of this article. Much of the Park Wall survives, constructed of massive roughly squared stones and up to 2 m. in height. At the western angle of the Park, where its boundary runs alongside a small stream, there are the remains of a water mill, and near the southern corner of the area are further earthworks and evidence of buildings of uncertain date.

CONCLUSIONS - THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CASTLE

Without excavation, any suggested pattern of the development of the site, based on the earthworks and fragmentary structural remains extant, must be at best tentative.
Documentary evidence, and indications both in the form of earthworks and the earlier wall underlying the north angle of the Gateway Tower, point to a fortified site of some importance prior to the fourteenth-century date usually ascribed to the castle. This earlier castle, perhaps of twelfth-century date (although the site may have Pre-Conquest origins), possibly consisted of two wards with stone defences, the smaller outer ward being entered where the fourteenth-century Gateway stands.
The castle seems to have been completely remodelled in the fourteenth century, probably in its last decade. The surrounding marsh or lake seems to have been relied upon as the main defensive feature, and the curtain wall which linked several square or rectangular towers seems to have been of no great strength. An extensive series of internal buildings seems to have developed, a sizeable chapel with a tower being constructed late in the history of the site.
The castle was abandoned in the late sixteenth century, and the buildings rapidly fell into a state of complete ruin, a situation aggravated by the attentions of villagers in search of building materials.
Ravensworth stands out amongst Yorkshire castles as an important site which has received very little attention. Excavation would help to elucidate both the ground plan of the buildings and the history of the site. Even more important is the consolidation of the existing remains - the surviving portions of the South-West Tower and the Belfry Tower, along with the upper part of the south corner of the Gateway Tower, all may fall in the near future unless some remedial measures are taken.