Exterior
The west façade of the castle has square towers flanking the central bay, with others at the south west and north west, all topped with octagonal, machicolated turrets. The north and south façades are relatively simple. The east façade has a central projection in the centre rising a storey above the parapet, to form a tower. The tower's south angle is splayed to accommodate the main staircase and only the corbels of its parapet survive. The screen closing off the east entrance has a three-bay cusped arcade on the ground floor and three ogee arches on the shafts above.
The roof was originally covered with sheet lead and adorning the roof are stone warriors and other figures, similar to those of Raby, Alnwick and the gates of York. Originally there were four figures on each corner turret and bartizan; only five have survived. Between the central towers once stood a sculpture of a knight in combat with a serpent (of which only fragments survive), believed to pertain to the tale of the Lambton Worm. The parapet is also machicolated (except on the north façade) and continued between the central towers by a carved-foliage arch (originally with cusping which fell in 1882), instead of corbels. Another feature of the roof was shallow stone troughs on the battlements which fed scalding oil or water into the machiocaltions as a means of defence. In a small chamber in each turret or bastion, a brazier was kept burning to bring the liquids to a suitable temperature.
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