The Hiltons are thought to be of Norse Viking origin and settled in England "in great reputation" 300 years before 1066 A.D. when William the Conqueror invaded Britain from Normandy in France.
Sir Lancelot de Hilton and his two son's, Robert and Henry, joined William the Conqueror as he advanced on London. Lancelot was killed near Faversham and in gratitude William deeded land to Lancelot's sons, which later became the home of Hilton Castle. Henry constructed the first Hilton castle around 1072.
In the reign of Edward III John Hilton, who sent four of his sons to the wars in France, under the Black Prince, was first created Baron of Hilton Castle for the defence of it against the Scots. This peerage continued in the family seven generations, until it was forfeited on account of some unguarded words, of which the Bishop of Durham gave information to the court, which William, the seventh and last Baron, spoke against the queen and her favourite De La Poole.
Bourne, the historian of Newcastle, writes, in 1736 that: "The present gentleman, John Hilton, Esq., a regular descendant of this ancient family, lives in the place of his ancestors, which he adorned and beautified beyond what was done in past ages; in particular the chapel, famous in the country for its
Irish wood, is so furnished with plate and books and other necessaries that it merits the character of a very beautiful chapel."
Now the whole imposing pile, deserted and desolate, stands the gradually wasting prey of wind and weather. Approaching from Sunderland, glimpses are obtained of its grey towers, rising amid lofty woods and avenues, in the vale on the left hand. As you near the lodge the gateway is seen, each of its stone pillars surmounted by the image of a large bird (black) of the falcon or buzzard tribe, with a coronet at its feet.
Proceeding along a pathway lined with ruinous park fencing for about a mile, the visitor arrives before the western or chief front of the old castle. Its centre, consisting of the front of an earlier edifice, has extensions of modern buildings on each side. The chief features of this centre are tour projecting square towers, surmounted by octagon battlements, which also extend along the recesses between the towers, as well as along the tops of the extensions or wings at the sides of the centre, so that a telling fire from under cover could be delivered against an assailing enemy along the whole front of the castle.
The architectural style of the front stamps it as belonging to the reign of Richard II. The centre and wings are adorned with shields, the arms being those of Neville, Skirlaw, Percy and Louvaine, Brabant, Hilton, Vipont, Lumley, Fitz-Randall, Washington, Ogle, Conyers and others.
Near the castle on a rising ground or terrace, stands the chapel, so famous for its 'Irish wood,' its 'plate and books, and other necessaries,' now a rapidly decaying ruin.
'Its beauty has given way to destruction. On the outside are numbers of stone shields of the Hiltons and families of their alliance as the Viponts, Stapletons,' etc.
Hilton was an enclosure on a hill upstream from the Monkwearmouth monastery of St Peter on the river Wear. It was built on the side of a hill overlooking the river, and thought to have been built in a defensive position to stop boats sailing up river to the Community of St Cuthbert at Chester le Street where the monks and their families who had fled with the treasures from Lindisfarne and settled in 885 A.D. The Hiltons had become defenders of the religious community. The monks spent 100 years at Chester le Street before moving further upstream to Durham where they built Durham Cathedral and founded Durham Priory, which became the center of learning in the North East of England which was acknowledged throughout Europe.
Durham became a Palatinate, virtually a kingdom within a kingdom, ruled by the Price Bishops and the Hiltons became Barons of the Bishopric of Durham, responsible for upholding the laws of the church and defending Durham from attack. In 1190, William de Wessyngton (Washington) who married to the sister of the King of Scotland became their next door neighbors when William settled at Wessyngton, 3 miles upstream from Hilton Castle.
The first mention of a castle on the site was in 1072 A.D., no trace of which survives today. The castle gatehouse which still stands was built between 1390-1410 and commemorates by heraldry, the Northern rebellion of 1403, when the Bishop of Durham joined forces with the northern noble families led Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland and "Hotspur" his son. They joined forces with Owen Glendower of Wales to fight for control of England north of the river Trent.
Scotland, seventy miles north of Hilton Castle, had gained their freedom from England at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1315 when they defeated the English, but the northern rebels of 1403 were defeated by King Henry IV forces when "Hotspur"was killed on the battlefield at Shrewsbury. Another rebellion took place in 1405 which also failed and resulted in the execution of the Archbishop of York and the Baron of Hilton being outlawed in London.
Descendants of the Hiltons of Hilton Castle married well throughout the north of England. Robert Hilton, c.1208 the brother of the Baron of Hilton Castle married into a Westmoreland family, which gave them control of the strategic main route from York to Carlisle across the country along the old roman road, now known as the A66. Many of his descendents settled in Lancashire and South Durham. Descendents of the Baron of Hilton are recorded in London as early as the 15th century and in the 16th century, William Hilton was recorded as body tailor to King Henry VIII and one of his daughters as seamstress to Queen Elizabeth I.
In Medieval times the Hiltons earned their living from sheep farming, fishing and saltmaking and shipbuilding. In Elizabethan times over 400 people were involved in the saltmaking industry using the local coal to heat and evaporate sea water. It was a monopoly granted by the queen and it enabled the Hilton family to take advantage of the fishing grounds off Newfoundland, using salt carried on board their ships to preserve the fish for sale on the London fish market at Billingsgate.
In 1543, Sir William Hylton was involved in another northern rebellion called the Pilgrimage of Grace. As Baron of the Bishoprick which included Monkwearmouth and Durham priories, he was responsible for defending and upholding the laws of the church and was probably excecuted as one of the leaders of the rebellion.
In the middle of the 16th century, Sir Thomas Hylton was made Governor of Tynemouth Castle and Priory, a royal castle, and with family descendents at Hull and at Hartlepool he controlled all the ports along the north east coastline from Hull to Berwick. He married four times but died childless. His second marriage brought 3 stepsons of the Lamberton family into the Hilton family and his third marriage, the heir of Gascoigne of nearby Ravensworth Castle. Sir Thomas Hylton was Sheriff of Durham and the most powerful man in the north east of England at the time.
In 1569, the northern families rebelled yet again, in the "Rising of the North", led by the Earls of Northumberland and the Earl of Westmoreland, in support of Mary Queen of Scots and the Catholic religion. The Hiltons of Hylton Castle supported Queen Elizabeth I. The rebellion failed and the 7th Earl of Northumberland was executed at York in 1572, and the Earl of Westmoreland was forced to flee abroad where he died in poverty.
In 1602, the Hiltons of Hylton Castle lost control of their estates, by the wardship of 13 year old Henry Hilton. He was married off to Mary Wortley of Yorkshire whom he never lived with, and settled at Billingshurst in Sussex and lived with Lady Shelley at Michelgrove..
In 1621 William Hilton of North Biddick Hall, in the "Original" Washington, England, a descendent of the Hiltons of Hylton Castle, sailed on the "Fortune" to Plymouth in New England in America and started the "Great Migration". His wife and two children joined him there where they founded Hilton's Point in what is today, New Hampshire. William Hilton became the founding father of New Hampshire in America, and his cousin Anthony Hilton became Governor of Nevis and St Kitts in the Caribbean in 1628. They were joined by their London cousin, Edward who became a founding father of what is today the State of Maine, U.S.A.
"They called themselves the "Pilgrim Fathers" and sailed off to the new land in the year 1620. The first ship to leave England was the "Mayflower". In the following year a second ship left this country and it carried the name of "Fortune". One of the pilgrims on board was William Hylton of Biddick Hall, who held the estate and farmed the lands Biddick." Many descendents of the Hylton family are to be found in the United States, and this Willam Hylton was referred to as the "Biddick Pilgrim Father" - Source; History and Folklore of Old Washington, Albert L Hind, 1976, Sir James Steel C.B.E., J.P., F.B.I.M. states "his roots go back sufficiently far in the century to recall the colorful characters of an earlier age.
During the Bishop's Wars and the English Civil Wars, the Hiltons of Hylton Castle fought on the Royalist side, and Hilton Manor which was built behind the current Castle Gatehouse was razed to the ground. Many of the Hilton family dispersed during the civil war, and Henry Hilton left his estates to the City of London in an attempt to protect them for future generations.
John Hilton Esquire inherited Hylton Castle and Estates. He married Dorothy Musgrave of Hayton Castle in Cumberland, daughter of Sir Richard Musgrave. John died in 1712 and the estates were inherited by Sir Richard Musgrave who married Anne, daughter of John Hilton. The estates were then inherited by Richard Musgrave, son of Sir Richard Musgrave on condition that he changed his name to Hilton which he did. The Hilton and Musgrave families had landholdings and roots stretching back centuries in Westmoreland and Cumberland. Hylton Castle was put up for sale in 1750 and bought by Lady Eleanor Bowes who did not live there, and the castle slowly fell into disrepair.
Bourne, the historian of Newcastle, writes, in 1736 that: "The present gentleman, John Hilton, Esq., a regular descendant of this ancient family, lives in the place of his ancestors, which he adorned and beautified beyond what was done in past ages; in particular the chapel, famous in the country for its
Irish wood, is so furnished with plate and books and other necessaries that it merits the character of a very beautiful chapel."
Now the whole imposing pile, deserted and desolate, stands the gradually wasting prey of wind and weather. Approaching from Sunderland, glimpses are obtained of its grey towers, rising amid lofty woods and avenues, in the vale on the left hand. As you near the lodge the gateway is seen, each of its stone pillars surmounted by the image of a large bird (black) of the falcon or buzzard tribe, with a coronet at its feet.
Proceeding along a pathway lined with ruinous park fencing for about a mile, the visitor arrives before the western or chief front of the old castle. Its centre, consisting of the front of an earlier edifice, has extensions of modern buildings on each side. The chief features of this centre are tour projecting square towers, surmounted by octagon battlements, which also extend along the recesses between the towers, as well as along the tops of the extensions or wings at the sides of the centre, so that a telling fire from under cover could be delivered against an assailing enemy along the whole front of the castle.
The architectural style of the front stamps it as belonging to the reign of Richard II. The centre and wings are adorned with shields, the arms being those of Neville, Skirlaw, Percy and Louvaine, Brabant, Hilton, Vipont, Lumley, Fitz-Randall, Washington, Ogle, Conyers and others.
Near the castle on a rising ground or terrace, stands the chapel, so famous for its 'Irish wood,' its 'plate and books, and other necessaries,' now a rapidly decaying ruin.
'Its beauty has given way to destruction. On the outside are numbers of stone shields of the Hiltons and families of their alliance as the Viponts, Stapletons,' etc.
Hilton was an enclosure on a hill upstream from the Monkwearmouth monastery of St Peter on the river Wear. It was built on the side of a hill overlooking the river, and thought to have been built in a defensive position to stop boats sailing up river to the Community of St Cuthbert at Chester le Street where the monks and their families who had fled with the treasures from Lindisfarne and settled in 885 A.D. The Hiltons had become defenders of the religious community. The monks spent 100 years at Chester le Street before moving further upstream to Durham where they built Durham Cathedral and founded Durham Priory, which became the center of learning in the North East of England which was acknowledged throughout Europe.
Durham became a Palatinate, virtually a kingdom within a kingdom, ruled by the Price Bishops and the Hiltons became Barons of the Bishopric of Durham, responsible for upholding the laws of the church and defending Durham from attack. In 1190, William de Wessyngton (Washington) who married to the sister of the King of Scotland became their next door neighbors when William settled at Wessyngton, 3 miles upstream from Hilton Castle.
The first mention of a castle on the site was in 1072 A.D., no trace of which survives today. The castle gatehouse which still stands was built between 1390-1410 and commemorates by heraldry, the Northern rebellion of 1403, when the Bishop of Durham joined forces with the northern noble families led Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland and "Hotspur" his son. They joined forces with Owen Glendower of Wales to fight for control of England north of the river Trent.
Scotland, seventy miles north of Hilton Castle, had gained their freedom from England at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1315 when they defeated the English, but the northern rebels of 1403 were defeated by King Henry IV forces when "Hotspur"was killed on the battlefield at Shrewsbury. Another rebellion took place in 1405 which also failed and resulted in the execution of the Archbishop of York and the Baron of Hilton being outlawed in London.
Descendants of the Hiltons of Hilton Castle married well throughout the north of England. Robert Hilton, c.1208 the brother of the Baron of Hilton Castle married into a Westmoreland family, which gave them control of the strategic main route from York to Carlisle across the country along the old roman road, now known as the A66. Many of his descendents settled in Lancashire and South Durham. Descendents of the Baron of Hilton are recorded in London as early as the 15th century and in the 16th century, William Hilton was recorded as body tailor to King Henry VIII and one of his daughters as seamstress to Queen Elizabeth I.
In Medieval times the Hiltons earned their living from sheep farming, fishing and saltmaking and shipbuilding. In Elizabethan times over 400 people were involved in the saltmaking industry using the local coal to heat and evaporate sea water. It was a monopoly granted by the queen and it enabled the Hilton family to take advantage of the fishing grounds off Newfoundland, using salt carried on board their ships to preserve the fish for sale on the London fish market at Billingsgate.
In 1543, Sir William Hylton was involved in another northern rebellion called the Pilgrimage of Grace. As Baron of the Bishoprick which included Monkwearmouth and Durham priories, he was responsible for defending and upholding the laws of the church and was probably excecuted as one of the leaders of the rebellion.
In the middle of the 16th century, Sir Thomas Hylton was made Governor of Tynemouth Castle and Priory, a royal castle, and with family descendents at Hull and at Hartlepool he controlled all the ports along the north east coastline from Hull to Berwick. He married four times but died childless. His second marriage brought 3 stepsons of the Lamberton family into the Hilton family and his third marriage, the heir of Gascoigne of nearby Ravensworth Castle. Sir Thomas Hylton was Sheriff of Durham and the most powerful man in the north east of England at the time.
In 1569, the northern families rebelled yet again, in the "Rising of the North", led by the Earls of Northumberland and the Earl of Westmoreland, in support of Mary Queen of Scots and the Catholic religion. The Hiltons of Hylton Castle supported Queen Elizabeth I. The rebellion failed and the 7th Earl of Northumberland was executed at York in 1572, and the Earl of Westmoreland was forced to flee abroad where he died in poverty.
In 1602, the Hiltons of Hylton Castle lost control of their estates, by the wardship of 13 year old Henry Hilton. He was married off to Mary Wortley of Yorkshire whom he never lived with, and settled at Billingshurst in Sussex and lived with Lady Shelley at Michelgrove..
In 1621 William Hilton of North Biddick Hall, in the "Original" Washington, England, a descendent of the Hiltons of Hylton Castle, sailed on the "Fortune" to Plymouth in New England in America and started the "Great Migration". His wife and two children joined him there where they founded Hilton's Point in what is today, New Hampshire. William Hilton became the founding father of New Hampshire in America, and his cousin Anthony Hilton became Governor of Nevis and St Kitts in the Caribbean in 1628. They were joined by their London cousin, Edward who became a founding father of what is today the State of Maine, U.S.A.
"They called themselves the "Pilgrim Fathers" and sailed off to the new land in the year 1620. The first ship to leave England was the "Mayflower". In the following year a second ship left this country and it carried the name of "Fortune". One of the pilgrims on board was William Hylton of Biddick Hall, who held the estate and farmed the lands Biddick." Many descendents of the Hylton family are to be found in the United States, and this Willam Hylton was referred to as the "Biddick Pilgrim Father" - Source; History and Folklore of Old Washington, Albert L Hind, 1976, Sir James Steel C.B.E., J.P., F.B.I.M. states "his roots go back sufficiently far in the century to recall the colorful characters of an earlier age.
During the Bishop's Wars and the English Civil Wars, the Hiltons of Hylton Castle fought on the Royalist side, and Hilton Manor which was built behind the current Castle Gatehouse was razed to the ground. Many of the Hilton family dispersed during the civil war, and Henry Hilton left his estates to the City of London in an attempt to protect them for future generations.
John Hilton Esquire inherited Hylton Castle and Estates. He married Dorothy Musgrave of Hayton Castle in Cumberland, daughter of Sir Richard Musgrave. John died in 1712 and the estates were inherited by Sir Richard Musgrave who married Anne, daughter of John Hilton. The estates were then inherited by Richard Musgrave, son of Sir Richard Musgrave on condition that he changed his name to Hilton which he did. The Hilton and Musgrave families had landholdings and roots stretching back centuries in Westmoreland and Cumberland. Hylton Castle was put up for sale in 1750 and bought by Lady Eleanor Bowes who did not live there, and the castle slowly fell into disrepair.
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