Aydon Castle (or Aydon Hall) is one of the finest and most unaltered examples of a 13th century English manor house. It’s situated near to the town of Corbridge, in Northumberland, England.
Documentary evidence shows that a timber hall first existed on the site, but the manor house was built by Robert de Reymes, a wealthy Suffolk merchant, starting in 1296. Originally an undefended residence consisting of a two-storeyed hall house with a solar, dining hall and kitchen on the upper floor, it was almost immediately fortified on the outbreak of Anglo-Scottish warfare – when Robert de Reymes obtained a licence to crenellate and added battlements and curtain walls in 1305.
The castle was pillaged and burnt by the Scots in 1315, seized by English rebels two years later, and again occupied by Scots in 1346.
Aydon Castle is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.