Bamburgh Castle

Area Attractions Click on Map.

The image top is from the main road running down into Bamburgh centre with the Castle sitting high above the Village.

The second image is from the vast Park below the Castle, and third from the large Free Car Park below the Castle.

The smaller Car Park up at the Castle has a small Parking Fee.

You pay at the Entrance to the Castle then walk along the Ramparts towards the Main Buildings.

The Ramparts give great views over the Beach and Sea. There is a Car Park for the Beach on the north side of the Castle.

The Main Buildings have many Rooms you can wander around at your leisure, Photos allowed.

The Great Hall is the top Room in the Castle.

The Chapel of St Peter is at the entrance to the Main Buildings, built around the 1000s, on the site of an earlier Church.

The earlier Church is where parts of King Oswald were buried. Oswald was King of Northumbria in the 600s, killed in battle by the forces of Penda, king of the Midlands, in 642, with his body cut to pieces.

The Armstrong Museum is at the north end of the Castle, giving information on the Armstrong family of Armstrong-Whitworth, a northeast Heavy Engineering family that also built Military hardware. With their great wealth, they bought Bamburgh Castle in 1894.

Also at the north end of the Castle is a Cafe.

Bamburgh Castle History

400s - the Romans departed Britain, abandoning Hadrian's Wall that runs from Carlisle to Newcastle, with Scots Tribes in control of the area of present day Northumbria, north of Hadrian's Wall.

400s - the site of present day Bamburgh Castle was used for a Celtic wooden Fort named Din Guarie, part of the Kingdom of Bernicia.

590 - Anglo-Saxons / mix of Germanic people and English, took control of the Fort and much of the Area. The two main Territories in the area were Beira and Bernicia.

600s - the Kingdom of Northumbria was founded after Deira and Bernicia merged.

993 - the Fort was destroyed by Vikings.

1066 - the Normans, mix of Vikings and French from northern France, took control of England, leading to them building Stone Castles around the Country, with Bamburgh being one of these Castles. This was the start of Modern England, ruled by one Monarch.

Most of these Castles were ran for the King by powerful Families in the area. Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, was in control of Bamburgh Castle.

Scots Kingdoms had been merging under one King around this time as well, with Scots Kings claiming Northumbria was part of Scotland.

These north England Castles were used to prevent the Scots from taking control of Northumbria.

1237 - the Treaty of York defined the Border between Scotland and England to roughly what is seen today, ending the Scots claim that Northumbria should be part of Scotland.

1455 - the Wars of the Roses began with Bamburgh the first Castle in England taken with Artillery after a nine month siege.

This was a time two Families were fighting to become the next King of England. The battles began after King Henry VI had been declared unfit to rule, due to his mental state.

The Kings relations from the House of Lancaster and House of York, both claimed to be next in line to the Throne. After years of Wars, Edward of the House of York became King Edward IV in 1461.

The York's were overthrown by the Tudors in 1485, with marriage between the York's and Tudors then used to prevent further Wars.

1500s - the Forster family from Northumbria were appointed Governors of Bamburgh Castle.

1700s - Sir William Forster was declared bankrupt after his death, leading to the Castle passing to Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, who began restoring the Castle.

1894 - William George Armstrong bought Bamburgh Castle. He was a wealthy Industrialist from Newcastle who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing company.

The Armstrong Family completed the restoration of the Castle, with them still the owners today.

1950s - Bamburgh Castle was opened to Visitors.