The One By the Sea

After a tasty lunch in Alnwick, we drove about 15 miles to the north east to Bamburgh Castle.  Sitting on top of a cliff 150 feet above sea level, Bamburgh overlooks a small village on one side and the North Sea on the other.  Despite the free parking spots along the road, we followed the “car park” signs up a steep hill and gladly paid the 2 pounds to park in the lot.  I was in no mood to climb up another steep hill and the mist coming off of the water made the air damp and chilly.  But we couldn’t wait to explore the massive fortress in front of us. The picture above was taken from the car park so this wasn't the hill we were bypassing!

view of the North Sea from the car park

The cliff we were bypassing was more like this one!

Once the home of the Kings of Northumbria, a castle has existed here for over 1400 years.  

From the mid 5^th century until the coming of the Vikings three centuries later, Bebbenburgh (as it was then known) passed through the hands of a number of Anglo Saxon kings.  In 867, Ecgberht I was appointed the first sub-king of Northumbria under the Danes.  For anyone who has read Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Series, this is the site of the main character’s (Uhtred) family home. 

Following William I’s conquest of England in 1066, and recognizing Northumbria’s importance as a buffer against the Scots, Bamburgh was given to Waltheof, an Anglo Saxon Earl.  William then married him to his niece Judith in order to further secure his loyalty.  This plan didn’t turn out so well when Waltheof joined other earls in 1075 in a rebellion which was easily crushed.  During the reign of William Rufus the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, was forced to yield the castle and Bamburgh become the property of the crown.  With the continuing threat from the Scots, the castle’s fortifications were modernized and strengthened.  Over the next 350 years the castle would see the likes of Alnwick's Henry “Hotspur” Percy (as its commander) and Piers Gaveston, Scotland’s David the Bruce and the Welsh princes captured during the conquest of Wales (all as prisoners). 

During the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VI was forced to seek refuge at the castle.  In 1464, the castle was captured by the Yorkist Richard Neville and it has the distinction of being the first English castle to fall to cannon fire.  Following the Wars of the Roses, although Bamburgh remained the property of the king and was kept for strategic purposes, it was largely neglected for the next 230 years. 

After being the property of kings for over 1,000 years, the castle was given to Sir Claudius Forster by James I in 1610 which put the castle into private ownership for the first time.  By the end of the century the castle was uninhabitable and the direct line of the family ended in 1701.  What was left of the estate passed to a sister Dorothy and her son Thomas.  Dorothy was married to a wealthy man named Lord Nathaniel Crewe who bought back the bankrupted estate.  Following his death without an heir in 1722, his will established a charitable trust that is still in existence today. 

In 1894, the property was purchased by the 1^st Lord Armstrong who set out to restore and rebuild the castle.  Armstrong was an inventor and loved engineering.  His company built ships and would eventually become Vickers-Armstrong.  The castle remains the Armstrong family home. 

The Gatehouse was built during the 12th century.

Started in 1164, The Keep is the oldest surviving part of the castle.  The front walls are eleven feet thick while the other walls are nine.  If you look closely at the door, it is "bottle shaped" which was intended to allow knights on horseback to enter the keep at fast speeds without dismounting.  

Inside the Keep is the Armoury which contains a collection of arms and armour, including pikes and muskets issued to the local militia in anticipation of an invasion of Napoleon. 

Nuremberg Suit of Armour - 1580

 

Also within the Keep is a well that dates back to Anglo Saxon times which goes down through 145 feet of solid rock.

The interior of the castle is made up of a number of rooms decorated with many artifacts and antiques.  Pictures were allowed but not with a flash so some of these are a little dark and/or blurry but hopefully they give you an idea. 

The King's Great Hall was built during the Victorian Era on the site of the earlier medieval one.  The ceiling is carved teak from Thailand (then called Siam) and the king of Siam was a good friend of Lord Armstrong.  

This area is called the "cross  hall".  The large windows let in a lot of light and provide beautiful views.  Unfortunately it also provided "backlit" conditions for pictures and so many of the ones we took were just too dark.

Love this staircase!

In a small alcove that leads to a long hallway is a pair of velvet chairs used by Lord and Lady Armstrong during the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.  

This is a wooden model of the castle - it is extremely detailed.

The Neville Tower, named for Richard Neville who was responsible for the cannon siege during the Wars of the Roses.  The current tower was rebuilt on the medieval foundations.  

Bamburgh is rated as one of the top seven Anglo Saxon archaeological sites in the world.  The above shows the excavation site.  Among it’s finds are a herringbone patterned welded sword found in 1960 believed to be the only one of its kind in the world (from between 650 and 850) and a stone chair fragment believed to be the arm of the throne of the Kings of Northumbria (unfortunately this was not on display during our visit due to a special exhibit that was being created). 

St. Oswald's Gate - At the far end of the property this dates from Anglo Saxon times and was the earliest entrance to the castle (it is completely opposite of the current/medieval entrance).  

Like its neighbor Alnwick, Bamburgh castle has been featured in many movies, including Becket (1964), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), Macbeth (1972) and Elizabeth (1998). 

I know this post has gone a little long, but I have to include a few shots of the gorgeous North Sea views and the cute little village of Bamburgh.  There are a number of small islands off the coast but they were difficult to see due to the mist and clouds.  Some of them are reachable by car during low tide.

The Neville Tower is to the left side of the picture.

To the left is a windmill built in the 18th century and used to ground corn that was sold to the local townspeople for reasonable prices during a rough economic period.

*information from the guidebook 

Cheers!