It is named after its original creator, Sir Ralph Lumley, who converted his family manor house into a castle in 1389 after returning from wars in Scotland.

On 13 April, en route from Newcastle upon Tyne to Durham, he stopped briefly at the castle as a guest of Lord Lumley.

[3] Although there are no documents to prove it, the Georgian alterations to the castle are attributed to Sir John Vanbrugh, particularly the library, which is now the Black Knight Restaurant.

Lumley Castle was sold in the 1960s by University College to fund the building of the 'Moatside' residential halls in central Durham, in order to keep all students on the same site.

[9] She was supposedly thrown down a well in the castle grounds by two priests for rejecting the Catholic faith,[10] who then told Baron Lumley she had left him to become a nun.

[9] In 2000 and 2005, visiting cricketers staying at the castle claimed to have witnessed paranormal activity including Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly.