Being right on the Scottish Borders, Northumberland has a long history of bloodshed and war. The territory has been the focal point and the site of many violent battles between England and Scotland throughout the history of the United Kingdom. This has left the county with an exceptional collection of historic castles, many ruined, but many intact and some still functioning.
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Alnwick Castle has received a lot of attention of late for its part in the Harry Potter film, in which it is used as the interior and exterior of Hogwarts School. Next to Windsor Castle, it is the second largest inhabited castle in England.
Originally built in 1096, by Yves de Vescy, Baron of Alnwick, it was erected to defend England against Scottish Invaders, as were many similar structures at the time. The original building was spare compared to what stands today and it has seen many alterations and structural additions over the centuries.
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Bought from the Bishop of Durham by the Percy family in the first decade of the 14th century, the castle was eventually taken from them by Henry IV in 1405, although, it was restored to its rightful owners and remains in the Percy family to date.
Bamburgh Castle is no less impressive. Built on Basalt Outcrops on the Northumbrian Coast, the earliest record of its existence goes all the way back the 6th century at the time of the Anglo-Saxons. This building bears little relation to the magnificent structure which stands today.
Bamburgh Castle as it can be seen has its structural and architectural origins in the Norman structure built on the same site. It proved strategically valuable and sturdy, surviving a siege by William II in 1095.
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Following a defeat in 1464 during the War of the Roses, the castle went through various hands and gradually fell into decline. Until the 18th century it was in a state of disrepair, but various new owners took on the responsibility of restoration. Noted Victorian industrialist Sir William George Armstrong finally purchased it and oversaw the completion of the restoration work. Now it is one of Northumberland’s most prized attractions and, as with Alnwick, is a Grade 1 listed Building.
While these two remarkable structures are amongst the county’s finest, Northumberland has many equally impressive and historically significant castles. Some, like Edlingham and Dunstanburgh, are ruins, while others, like Warkworth, are in much better condition.
Dunstanburgh Castle and Warkworth Castle are two of Northumberland’s most prized buildings, although both are considered ruins and maintained by English Heritage.
Dunstanburgh Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument which dates back to the early 14th century. Construction was begun by the Earl of Lancaster in 1313, ostensibly as a fortress. He was executed a mere nine years later and it fell to the first Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, to see to the final improvements. While many castles in Northumberland played a major part in the border wars between England and Scotland, Dunstanburgh Castle avoided the sort of destruction seen elsewhere.
It wasn’t until the War of the Roses in the 15th century, in which the Lancastrians were one of the principal opposing factions, that the structure was significantly damaged. It never recovered, falling into a state of ruin which was exacerbated by the pilfering of its stone for other buildings. Situated on the coast in Northumberland’s Area of Outstanding Beauty, it remains a sight sufficiently impressive to have been painted by noted artist J.M.W. Turner on more than one occasion.
The ruin of Warkworth Castle was originally a wooden fortress built in the 12th century during a period when Northumberland was a part of Scotland. The first wooden ‘motte and bailey’ style fortress was built by the Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland. When the English reappropriated the county in 1147, the castle was handed over to Roger FitzRichard. The FitzRichard family were responsible for rebuilding it in stone during the two centuries in which they owned it. When the family ran into financial difficulties, the castle was returned to the Crown until the arrival of Henry V who gave it to the Percy family.
Following the War of the Roses, they lost it and regained it, only to lose it again when Thomas Percy was executed for his political affiliation to Elizabeth I. Looted and left to decay, it fell into a state of neglect until the 18th century when the third Duke of Northumberland began some basic restoration. It was further restored by the his successors until the 8th Duke rendered it to English Heritage in whose capable hands it remains.
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