John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, built Raby Castle between about 1367 and 1390, and Bishop Thomas Hatfield granted a license to fortify it in 1378. The article names no original architect. The castle has an irregular plan with nine perimeter towers, a moat and a curtain wall. The four-story Neville Gateway originally had three portcullises.
William Burn altered the castle between 1843 and 1848, adding a drawing room in the Jacobean style. The Earls of Darlington and Dukes of Cleveland added a Gothic-style entrance hall. The castle sits in 200 acres of deer park.
After Charles Neville led the failed Rising of the North in 1569, the castle was taken into royal custody. Henry Vane the Elder bought it in 1626. It is still a private home, a Grade I listed building and open seasonally.

Comments