Scheduled MonumentsEnglandNewcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch

England
List entry 1019279
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1019279
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.18 hectares
Grid reference
NZ 24383 64113
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences is a section of medieval curtain wall forming part of the fortified circuit that enclosed the medieval town. The surviving section includes Durham Tower, a substantial stone tower that served as a defensive structure and part of the perimeter fortification system. The remains date to the medieval period, with construction and modification occurring across several centuries as the town's defensive requirements evolved. The associated town ditch, surviving as an earthwork feature adjacent to the wall, formed an integral part of the defensive system, providing an additional obstacle to potential attackers and defining the boundary of the defended settlement.

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1019279. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch?

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences is a section of medieval curtain wall forming part of the fortified circuit that enclosed the medieval town. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1019279.

Who is responsible for protecting Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch?

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1019279.

What other scheduled monuments are near Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall and town ditch between Forth Street and Hanover Street (0.6 km), Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Closegate and Water Tower (0.7 km), Newcastle Swing Bridge (0.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch

Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch stands on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

The wider landscape

Around Newcastle upon Tyne town defences: section of curtain wall including Durham Tower and section of town ditch

Battle of Newburn Ford 1640Battle (1640) · ~5 milesBattle of Neville's Cross 1346Battle (1346) · ~13.5 miles