Haggerston Castle was a castle located in the county of Northumberland, England at Haggerston about 5 miles (8 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Only the tower, rotunda and stable block (Grade II listed buildings) remain. Today it is best known as a caravan park owned by Haven Holidays
History
Haggerston Castle was first mentioned in sources in 1311 when Edward II visited the castle and again in 1345, when it was described as a ‘strong tower’ and was granted a licence to crenellate by Edward III. This licence is recorded in the Calendar of patent rolls (1343–45),
The inhabitants of the castle, the de Hagardestons, are believed to have been part of the 11th century invading force of William the Conqueror, which penetrated as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed. The land at Haggerston was then boggy and wet, the remaining lake a remnent of that time. There are few records of the early history of Haggerston Castle as fires have destroyed much of the castle with its documents. It is known that John de Hagardeston inhabited the castle in the late 12th and early 13th century, his death having been documented as circa 1210. He married into the Manners family of Cheswick, Northumberland. The name de Hagardeston appears to have been changed to the anglicized spelling of Haggerston with Thomas Haggerston, born circa 1458.
In 1642 Sir Thomas Haggerston was created the first baronet of Haggerston in the Baronetage of England. The Haggerstons married into many great families such as the Cheswick family, gaining large amounts of land. In 1785 Haggerston was in the ownership of Sir Carnaby Haggerston who married Francis Smyth, and their daughter Mary, in 1805 married Sir Thomas-Massey Stanley of Hooton Hall in Cheshire, to whom the ownership of Haggerston Castle devolved. The Baronetcy passed to Sir Carnaby’s nephew, Thomas Haggeston of Sandoe and Ellingham, Northumberland. Sir William Thomas Stanley-Massey-Stanley, 10th Baronet (1806–1863) of Hooton amassed considerable gambling debts and c.1839 both Hooton Hall and Haggerston Castle came into the ownership of the Naylor/Leyland family.
Today
C.J. Leyland (née Naylor) died in 1926; in 1933, attempting to recoup some of the family fortune, the ruins of the house he built were demolished and the estate was auctioned off in 2,000 lots. Only the tower and the rotunda (both Grade II listed buildings) remain of the castle. Haven Holidays now owns these structures and operates a holiday park on surrounding 256 acres (104 ha) of land. The main complex of the caravan park, resembling a large tent, stretches between these structures. The tower is used as a storeroom and the rotunda is the Owner’s Exclusive lounge. The cellars have been converted into a bar and storerooms.
Seven semi-detached cottages, the “Roadside Cottages”, remain and are privately owned. They and a terrace of four cottages, the “Flower Cottages”, were built for employees of the castle in the late 18th century. The ruins of the chapel and the ice house remain, along with the dovecote on the opposite side the A1.