At one time it was one of the finest castles in England. Hylton Castle was built
in the 1400's by Sir William de Hylton. Built in the shape of a gatehouse it was
designed for comfort than defence.
The castle is now an empty shell and can only be viewed from the outside, this
no doubt is to safe guard the ghost hunters who visit the castle. One of the
features that can still be seen are the coats of arms of various local families
carved in the stone walls of the castle. They include the Hyltons, Percys,
Greys, Eures, Lumleys and the Washingtons.
On the Washington coat of arms were three stars and two bars and it is believed
that George Washington adapted the coat of arms to design the stars and stripes
flag for the United States. The castle does not stand alone, just to the north
east stands the remains of the Chapel of St Catherine, in which some members of
the Hylton family were buried.
Hylton castle is now more famously known for its ghost the Cauld Lad of Hylton
who is said to haunt the castle. In the 1500's a stable boy Robert Skelton was
said to have been caught sleeping instead of working by the Baron Robert Hylton,
and in a fit of rage the Baron picked up a pitch fork struck the boys head and
killed him.
The baron was granted a full pardon in 1609. The staff of Hylton Castle would
sometimes say they had seen or heard the Cauld Lad, some even said he carried
his head around under his arm. Being a young boy and a ghost he was mischievous
and enjoyed throwing dishes around, but he would only do this if the servants
had left the kitchen tidy.
If they had left it untidy the ghost would clean up for them, so naturally the
servants would more often than not leave the kitchen untidy. It is also said
that sometimes the Cauld Lad would get bored with the castle and go down to the
river and sail the Hylton ferry by impersonating the boatman. After taking the
passengers fares he would leave them stranded in the middle of the river.
It was said that the ghost of the Cauld Lad was put to rest when the Hylton
Castle servants gave him a green cloak and a hood which they lay before the
kitchen fire. The servants sat waiting and at midnight the ghost appeared took
the cloak and hood and as he started disappearing his last words could be heard:
"Here's a cloak and here's a hood The Cauld Lad o' Hylton will do no more good".
