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Knights and
Castles Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens
Belsay, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and
Wear, NE20 0DX.
Tel: 01661 881636.
A medieval tower, a house like a Greek temple and stunning gardens. The
magnificent 30-acre garden at Belsay Hall, listed Grade I in the Register of
Parks and Gardens, is largely the work of two men. Sir Charles Monck created the
dramatic Quarry Garden: a series of ravines, corridors and pinnacles. His
grandson, Sir Arthur Middleton, enriched it with all manner of rare and exotic
plants. Species rhododendrons flower for most of the year and there is also a
two-acre Hybrid Rhododendron Garden, at its best from late May to June. There
are also formal terraces and a winter garden. Belsay is a plantsman’s garden
where much of the original planting survives, including magnolias, Pieris
floribunda and Exochorda giraldii, all flowering on the terraces. The Castle is
a dramatic, well-preserved medieval towerhouse, to which a Jacobean manor house
was added in 1614. Belsay Hall (1807), designed by Sir Charles in Greek Revival
style after the Temple of Theseus he had visited in Athens, has great
architectural importance within Europe. Sir Charles strove to create a modern
country house that still resembled an ancient temple. Belsay has something for
everyone: a magical place with a fascinating history, wonderful buildings and a
unique garden for all seasons.
Etal Castle
Etal Village, Cornhill-On-Tweed,
Northumberland, TD12 4TN.
Tel: 01890 820332.
Etal Castle started out as a three-storey tower house, but its location near the
border with Scotland made it vulnerable to attack. In 1341, the owner, Robert
Manners, was granted a licence to fortify his home. He created a roughly square
courtyard enclosed by curtain walls, with the tower house in one corner and a
large gatehouse diagonally opposite and a tower at each of the other corners.
The tower house was improved with the addition of another storey and
crenellations. By the start of the 16th century the Manners were living
elsewhere and the castle was in the care of a constable. In 1513 the castle fell
to the army of James IV of Scotland during his failed invasion of England. James
was killed nearby during the Battle of Flodden, when a hastily recruited army of
20,000 Northerners decisively beat his army of 30,000 Scots. In 1549 the castle
was ceded to the Crown, possibly in an attempt to reduce the neglect of this
strategic border castle. With the union of the English and Scottish crowns in
1603 Etal ceased to have any military purpose and the decay, which had already
set in was allowed to continue unabated. An award-winning exhibition tells the
story of the Battle of Flodden and of the border warfare which existed here
before the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603.
St Mary's Lighthouse & Visitor Centre
Trinity Cottage, St. Marys Island,
Whitley Bay, Tyne And Wear, NE26 4RS.
Tel: 0191 200 8650.
Cross the causeway, climb the tower and experience spectacular coastal views.
Exhibitions and gift shop. Outside is a nature reserve with facinating rockpools,
flights of birds, a beach and clifftop walks. The famous lighthouse is one of
the most photographed and painted buildings in the country.
Corbridge Roman Site
Corbridge, Northumberland, NE45 5NT.
Tel: 01434 632349.
5 miles north of Corbridge is the site of this well-known Roman camp - the main
supply depot for the armies building and guarding Hadrian's wall nearly 2000
years ago. The substantial remains of this excavated Roman settlement include
the best example of military granaries in the country. The museum houses finds
from the site, including the famous stone fountainhead - the Lion of Corbridge,
giving a fascinating insight into Roman life. Inclusive audio tour. Tel: 01434
632349. It is well worth a visit, especially if you intend to tour the Hadrian
Wall sites.
Cherryburn
Station Bank, Mickley, nr Stocksfield,
Northumberland, NE43 7DD.
Tel: 01661 843276.
The birthplace of Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), Northumberland’s greatest artist,
wood-engraver and naturalist. Cottage with farmyard, garden and play lawn. Also
19th-century farmhouse, the later home of the Bewick family, houses an
exhibition on Bewick’s life and work and small shop selling prints from his
original wood engravings, books and gifts. Wood engraving, printing and
bookbinding demonstrations in adjoining barn. Splendid views over the Tyne
valley. The south bank of the River Tyne, where Bewick spent much of his
childhood, is a short walk from the property.
Aydon Castle
Corbridge, Northumberland, NE45 5PJ.
Tel: 01434 632450.
This Borders home was built for an unusual - and brief - time of peace. Secluded
from the rest of the Tyne Valley, Aydon Castle stands in a most attractive
wooded landscape, overlooking the steep valley of the Cor Burn. One of the
finest examples in England of a thirteenth-century manor house, Aydon Castle was
originally built as an undefended house during a time of unusual peace in the
Borders. When peace ended, the house was fortified, but even so, it was pillaged
and burnt by the Scots in 1315, seized by the English rebels two years later,
and subject to frequent repairs and modifications. Robert de Reymes, Aydon’s
builder, and once a wealthy Suffolk merchant, was left impoverished. In the
seventeenth century, the Castle was converted into a farmhouse, which it
remained until 1966.
Chesters Roman Fort
The Chesters, Humshaugh, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 4EU.
Tel: 01434 681379.
Sophisticated water systems and Edwardian museum. Chesters was one of the series
of troop bases added to Hadrian’s Wall soon after it was built in ad122-23. It
is the best preserved example of a Roman cavalry fort in Britain. It seems to
have been occupied for nearly three centuries, with several changes of garrison
during that time. There is much to see on the ground: the four principal
gateways are well-preserved, the east and west with short lengths of Hadrian’s
Wall adjoining them. The entire foundation of the headquarters building is
visible with a courtyard, hall, regimental chapel and strongroom. The military
bath house is extremely well-preserved, with changing room, latrines and bathing
rooms, as is the Roman bridge abutment on the far bank of the river. Chesters
Museum is home of the Clayton Collection, which includes many important early
archaeological discoveries relating to the central sector of Hadrian’s Wall.
Dunstanburgh Castle
Alnwick, Northumberland.
Tel: 01665 576231.
A magnificent fourteenth-century castle with a dramatic past. Outlined against
the sky, on a basalt crag more than 30 metres (100ft) high, stands the jagged
silhouette of this magnificent fourteenth-century castle. The stormy seas that
surround the rocky shoreline beneath the walls and the screaming of the sea
birds echoing under its cliffs lend the area a distinctly dramatic feel. The
background to the building of Dunstanburgh Castle and the history of those
associated with it is one of turmoil and unrest, as dramatic in itself as the
Castle’s surroundings. Built at a time of political crisis and Anglo-Scottish
conflict, the strained relations between King Edward II and his nephew, Thomas
Earl of Lancaster, who built the Castle, led eventually to rebellion and to the
capture and execution of the Earl in 1322. By the sixteenth century,
Dunstanburgh had fallen into decay. The Castle, which had been built on the
grandest possible scale and had reflected the lavish tastes of the Earl, was by
then perceived to be of no use and so left to ruin. However, even at this time,
Dunstanburgh retained its sense of the dramatic: a ballad told of a resident
ghost, that of Sir Guy the Seeker. Having failed to rescue a beautiful lady held
captive in a hall under the castle, Sir Guy was said to roam the castle ruins,
moaning dismally to anyone who would listen.
Norham Castle
Norham, Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, TD15 2JY.
Tel: 01289 382329.
Norham was one of the strongest of the border castles. Built in the latter half
of the twelfth century, it came under siege several times during its 400-year
history as a military stronghold. Norham’s massive walls proved impenetrable
during many of these attacks, but when James IV stormed it in 1513, it fell and
was largely destroyed. The Great Tower shows signs of four building phases
spanning the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. Much of what can be seen today
dates from the extensive repairs to the castle, and the re-roofing of the Great
Tower, that followed the siege of 1513.
Prudhoe Castle
Prudhoe, Northumberland, NE42 6NA.
Tel: 01661 833459.
On a wooded hillside overlooking the River Tyne stands the remains of this
formidable castle. Archaeological evidence reveals that a defended enclosure
existed on the site as early as the mid-11th century. Today, inside its
defensive ditches and ramparts the Georgian manor house is a dominating feature.
The castle was successfully defended against Scottish attacks, resisting sieges
in 1173 and 1175, famously recorded by the contemporary chronicler, Jordan
Fantosme. Small Exhibition and Video Presentation. Beautiful Picnic Spot. Brass
Rubbing.
Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh, Northumberland, NE69 7DF.
Tel: 01668 214515. Fax 01668 214060.
E-mail:
bamburghcastle@aol.com Web:
www.bamburghcastle.com
Bamburgh Castle is probably the finest castle in England. It is perched on a
basalt outcrop on the very edge of the North Sea at Bamburgh, Northumberland. It
commands stunning views of the Farne Islands, Holy Island and land'ward to the
Cheviot hills. The castle is open to day visitors and parties of 15 or more,
from April to October inclusive. Bamburgh Castle is licensed for civil weddings,
providing unsurpassed photo opportunities. The Armstrong Museum and Bamburgh
Castle Aviation Artefacts Museum (BCAAM) are housed in the old laundry building
in the north ward of the castle. The Armstrong museum details the life of the
first Baron Armstrong, through his work as an engineer. Hydraulics, ships,
aircraft and arms were some of the many engineering fields in which Lord
Armstrong excelled. In the same building can be found relics of aviation from
its beginnings to the present. Casualties from last two world wars make up a
large percentage of the exhibit's in the Bamburgh Castle Aviation Artefacts
Museum (BCAAM).
Warkworth Castle & Hermitage
Warkworth, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE65 0UJ.
Tel: 01665 711423.
A hillside stronghold and home to the Percy family of Shakespearean fame. The
magnificent eight-towered keep of Warkworth Castle stands on a hill high above
the River Coquet, dominating all around it. A complex stronghold, it was home to
the Percy family, which at times wielded more power in the North than the King
himself. Most famous of them all was Harry Hotspur (Sir Henry Percy),
immortalised in Northumbrian ballads and Shakespeare’s Henry IV, several scenes
of which were set at Warkworth. Harry dominated the Borders in the fifteenth
century with his father, the Earl of Northumberland, and fought off the Scots on
behalf of the King before assisting in the removal of Richard II from the
throne. As headquarters and home to the region’s most powerful family, Warkworth
needed to be an impressive castle - and it remains so to this day.
Tynemouth Priory & Castle
East Street, North Shields, Tyne and
Wear, NE30 4BZ.
Tel: 0191 257 1090.
In the 12th century a priory was built by the Benedictines on the site that was
originally a 7th century Anglo-Saxon monastery. Set atop a dramatic clifftop
landmark, the Priory and Castle have dominated the entrance to the River Tyne
since the seventh century and provided spiritual and physical refuge. Once one
of the richest priories in England and an important religious house - two saints
are buried here - it has been the site of strategic importance since its
founding. Raided by the Danes in the Dark Ages, it was still a military garrison
until 1956. The steep banks of the river provide a good vantage point to view
the busy river life, fishing trawlers and shipyards.
Chillingham Castle
Chillingham, Alnwick, Northumberland,
NE66 5NJ.
Tel: 01668 215359. Fax: 01668 215463.
E-mail:
info@chillingham-castle.com Web: www.chillingham-castle.com
This remarkable castle with its alarming dungeons and torture chamber has, since
the twelve-hundreds, been continuously owned by the family of the Earls Grey and
their relations. You will see active restoration of complex masonry, metalwork
and ornamental plaster as the great halls thrive with day to day life. A wide
diversity of rooms and style give a refreshing difference to the Castle.
Situated in romantic grounds, the Castle has commanding views of the surrounding
countryside with local farmsteads and the scenic grandeur of the Cheviots. The
formal gardens and woodland walks are all fully available to
the public.
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