Hylton Castle

Hylton Castle is a ruined stone castle, originally built from wood by the Hilton (later Hylton) family shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Today, the castle is owned by English Heritage. The castle and its chapel are protected as a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. There is a local tradition that Hylton Castle is haunted by the spirit of Robert Skelton, known as the Cauld (a pronunciation of "cold" in Mackem) Lad of Hylton. Various versions of how he was killed exist, the most popular being that he was decapitated by Sir Robert Hylton (later de jure 13th Baron Hylton), after falling asleep and failing to get his master's horse ready on time. Skelton's spirit then began to haunt the castle and would move objects, either misplacing them or tidying up. The spirit was said to have been finally laid to rest when the castle servants put a cloak out for him.