Belsay Hall and Castle, Northumberland: Report on Geophysical Surveys, July and October 2016
Author(s): Neil Linford, Paul Linford, Andy Payne
Caesium magnetometer, earth resistance and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys were conducted at Belsay Hall and Castle, Northumberland, as part of the ‘Belsay Awakes’ Shared Services Agreement project initiated by the English Heritage Trust to improve understanding of the site in support of a Heritage Lottery Fund bid to develop facilities at the site. The surveys were conducted over the Castle Yards, Gardens and Belsay Park, together with targeted coverage within the Nursery Paddock and the site of the demolished C16th chapel in the vicinity of the Hall. Evidence for the past use of the wider landscape across Belsay Park has a been revealed by the magnetic (8.7ha) and GPR (10.8ha) surveys, including former structural remains and elements of the walled garden associated with the castle further corroborated by the earth resistance (1.0ha) data. The GPR survey also detected the remains of an elaborate series of fish ponds within the Nursery Paddock and the earth resistance suggested the location of structural remains associated with the demolished chapel.
- Report Number:
- 4/2017
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 40
