Tarset Castle is possibly a 12th century earth and timber motte, founded by Richard Comyn. In 1267 King Henry III granted John Comyn, a Royal licence to enclose and crenellate a camera within his manor of Tyrsete. Standing on a promontory above the Tarset Burn, which commands the North Tyne and Tarset fords, the large flat-topped motte is defended by a deep ditch. Crowning its east side was a long narrow rectangular fortified range, flanked on the angles by square towers and encased by a stone wall. In 1522-23 the fortress was garrisoned by Sir Ralph Fenwick but in 1525 the castle was taken and burnt by an alliance of Tynedale and Scots men. Abandoned, its ruins were later used as a quarry and now only the foundations of the north-east and south-east angle towers, a double-chamfered plinth and turf-covered masonry remain. A mile south-west is Dally Castle and 3 miles north is Black Middens Bastle.