An English Castle and Its Village 
lies hidden far from the streams of daily 
traffic. The gorgeous tints which October 
frosts bring out are said by travellers to rival 
the best effects of the Hudson River hillsides. 
The history ol 
the castle is lost 
in antiquity. All 
we know is that 
in Saxon times it 
was “The Man¬ 
sion Hous e,” 
which is the Sax¬ 
on meaning of the 
name Bothal, or 
Bottle-a term oc¬ 
curring very gen¬ 
erally throughout 
Northumberland. 
As The Mansion 
House it was no 
doubt a place of 
strength. It is 
built on a rocky 
eminence, with 
an open space or 
small valley. It 
commanded the 
ford across the 
river which wash¬ 
es its base and 
probably filled a 
moat which sur¬ 
rounded it, the 
remains of which 
have now disap¬ 
peared. The few 
cottages of the 
retainers nestled 
under its protection, as also the church, of 
which there are still Saxon remains. One 
interesting feature of this church is that it 
has neither tower nor steeple, but only a 
belfry with the somewhat unusual number of 
three bells. A steeple would, of course, be 
out of place in a narrow valley, shut in by 
woods on all sides: a tower, such as is often 
found in the border county, was useful as a 
refuge in the case of the Scottish raids, but 
here, under the wing of the castle, it would 
not be wanted and a simple belfry supplied 
the musical call to the services of the church. 
In the time of Richard Coeur de Lion, 
a license was given to fortify The Mansion 
House in the style of the Norman Castle. 
It was probably bought, as it is well known 
that in order to carry out that crusade, on 
which Sir Walter Scott has thrown his ro¬ 
mantic glamour, 
King Richard 
sold these licenses 
t o every baron 
wbo would pay 
his price. From 
that time, and 
probably long be¬ 
fore, the barons 
of Bothal took a 
leading part in 
the public life 
of the Border. 
In Edward the 
Third's reign 
there was a fur¬ 
ther strengthen¬ 
ing of this im¬ 
portant hold; 
and the great 
gateway as it now 
stands is a relic 
of the great work. 
Along the course 
of stones below 
the parapet are 
fourteen shields 
of all the neigh- 
boring barons 
who gave their 
help. In the 
place of honour 
is the shield of 
King Edward; 
and it is interesting to note that it perpet¬ 
uates an act of false heraldry, which was 
corrected at once after giving rise to a jest 
by Philip of Valois on the ignorance it dis¬ 
played of the principles of that fascinating 
branch of learning. 
Up to this time the castle and manor 
were held by the Bertrams, of the Norman 
family of Baliol, which gave a king to Scot¬ 
land. The first Bertram had married the 
heiress of the Saxon Guysulf, according to 
the system generally pursued by William 
the Conqueror, of providing beauty and 
wealth for his followers at the expense of the 
conquered country, and at the same time 
THE CASTLE FROM THE SOUTH 
213 
