Author
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Topic: Coupland Castle
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allumd Member
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posted 10-11-99 08:02 AM
We will be spending a week staying in the 'Tower Castle' which I believe is part of Coupland Castle nr Wooler in Northumberland. Apart from this we have no further information on its history.Can anyone help?
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John Ball Senior Member
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posted 10-12-99 03:11 PM
From, English Castles by Adrian Pettifer. Coupland Castle, four miles north-west of Wooler, consists of a lofty pele tower attached to a house of the 1820s. The tower is evidently a late one - this area, so near the Border, remained in a state of chaos well after the union of the two kingdoms - but the date 1619 carved on a fireplace inside is considered a couple decades too late for a tower of this kind. It is interesting to note that the tower relied upon a conventional parapet for defence whereas in Scotland, the emphasis had by now shifted to gun ports at ground level. A taller wing contains the staircase up to the first floor level, though beyond that the stair is contained in an angle turret, leaving the wing free for extra accommodation. This arrangement shows the influence of the Scottish L-plan, though here the wing projects from the middle of one side. Whatever its date, the tower was built by a member of the Wallis family.
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