Bamburgh Castle
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Bamburgh Castle
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When:
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1 Mar - 31 Oct 2008 (annual)
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Where:
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Bamburgh Castle
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| Costs: |
Various
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| Opening Hours: |
10am-5pm; last entry 4pm
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Steeped in history and overlooking the dramatic Northumberland coast, Bamburgh Castle has great views of the Farne Islands - a haven for seabirds - Holy Island and, inland, the Cheviots and the magnificence of the Northumberland National Park.
Although the castle as seen today is, at the earliest, of Norman origin, recent archaeological digs have unearthed evidence of pre-Roman fortifications as well as a beautiful gold piece shaped like an intertwined animal. Not surprisingly this has been adopted as an unofficial logo for the castle and is affectionately known as the "Bamburgh Beast". It dates from around 600 AD, only about 50 years after the area had suffered invasions from north Germany and Denmark - the Angles and Saxons.
In AD547 King Ida the Flamebearer was successful in conquering Northumberland (then stretching from the Humber to the Firth of Forth) and he made Bamburgh his capital. In fact it didn't actually get its name for a couple more generations, when Ida's grandson, Ethelfirth, gave the settlement to his wife, Bebba. Eventually "Bebbaburgh" transmuted itself into Bamburgh.
The castle's Norman battlements fell to cannon fire during the Wars of the Roses in the middle of the 15th century, and only a century later, when Elizabeth I had given the castle to the Foster family, did the building's fortunes start to revive. Lord Crewe (the Bishop of Durham) owned it in the 18th century, building a windmill at the north end to grind corn for the poor, as well as instigating measures to ensure the safety of seafarers.
Late in the 19th century it was the turn of the first Lord Armstrong to buy the castle, and he spent a staggering £1 million on renovations. It remains in the Armstrong family to this day.
Visitors can view rooms in the castle that illustrate life during Lord Crewe and Lord Armstrong's days, including the massive chains that were used for salvaging shipwrecked goods, fabulous armour and the Keep, with walls between nine and 12 feet thick!
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