Historic Dilston

Who were the Radcliffes?

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The Radcliffes are the family who owned Dilston in Northumberland from 1521 until 1731 when their lands were confiscated on account of their involvement in the Jacobite Rising of 1715.

The family originated in Lancashire and succeeded to the manor of Dilston in the early sixteenth century. This came about through the marriage of Edward Radcliffe, a younger son of Sir Thomas Radcliffe of Derwentwater, in Cumberland, to a Dilston heiress, Anne Cartington.

In 1688 Sir Francis Radcliffe was ennobled as the First Earl of Derwentwater.

In 1715, James the 3rd Earl and his brother Charles joined the Jacobite rising against King George I. Both were captured at the defeat of the Jacobite army and James was executed in 1716. Charles escaped but was recaptured while returning to England in 1745 and executed. The family lost their title and their estates were confiscated in 1731.