Trifter

BAMBURGH: CAPITAL OF NORTHUMBRIA AND ENGLAND. BAMBURGH Castle stands on a dramatic headland above the North Sea and Holy Island. The promontory is the eastern tip of the Great Whin Sill which forms Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands before snaking off in a south-westerly direction across Northumberland. It overlooks miles of Northumbrian coastline and countryside. Bamburgh has been the background for many historical films, including Becket and El Cid.

There had been a stronghold on this site since before Ida the Flamebringer stormed ashore in 547 to found the Saxon Kingdom of Bernicia, later part of Northumbria. Ida and his descendants made their kingdom the most powerful of the seven Anglo-Saxon realms that made up England during the Dark Ages. Thus this small, sleepy seaside village was in effect the capital of England. The present castle was built and enlarged during the Middle Ages. It was bought by the Tyneside inventor, engineer and industrialist, Lord Armstrong during the 1980s. Bamburgh has witnessed some memorable sieges throughout its long history. The earliest recorded one was written down by St Bede. King Penda of Mercia was attacking Northumbria during the 640s and attempted to burn down the timber stockade. The column of smoke caused St Aidan on the nearby Holy Island of Lindisfarne to pray for deliverance. The wind changed direction, blowing the flames back onto the pagan Mercians who fled from the area. A Viking raiding army took and looted the fortress in 993. In 1464 it became the final Lancastrian stronghold in the north during the Wars of the Roses. The deputy governor surrendered the castle when the governor, Sir Ralph Grey was lying unconscious from wounds.

The Yorkists later executed Grey. Sir John Forster, a retired Warden of the English Middle March was besieged there by 30 Scottish riders seeking revenge in October 1597. Sir John, who had been a venal man throughout his long years of service was 95 years old at the time. This unscrupulous old man escaped to fight another day. He died in bed seven years later, having seen the turn of the century, England and Scotland united under one crown and the Borders done away with. Bamburgh Castle was in a derelict state of repair when it as purchased by Lord Armstrong. He immediately began using his vast fortune to start his restoration project. Armstrong’s love of the castle reached down through his family and later generations carried on with his restoration work. It was finally completed many years after his death and Bamburgh Castle is still the family home of the Armstrong family. Visitors are now able to savour what has been described as the finest castle in all of England. The public tour takes in the splendour of the King’s hall and the Cross Hall, reception rooms, the bake house and Victorian scullery, the Armoury and the dungeon. There is a wide range of fine china, porcelain, glassware, paintings, tapestries and furniture on exhibition in each of these rooms.

The Armstrong Museum, housed in the castle’s laundry building, celebrates the life and achievements of the first Lord Armstrong. He was an ingenious engineer, shipbuilder, arms maker, industrialist who bequeathed a great inheritance to both Tyneside and the modern world. There is also a collection of engrossing aviation artifacts from the Second world War housed in this part of the castle. Archaeology occasionally takes place in and around Bamburgh Castle. The Bamburgh Research Project has unearthed a fascinating assortment of artefacts from burial grounds that date back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Its other task is to investigate the site and its usage over the last three millennium. The castle is licensed to perform civil marriage ceremonies while the Clock Tower Tea Rooms serve tea and light lunches. Bamburgh Castle is open from 11:00 to 17:00 daily (last admittance at !6:30) between March and October. The car park is open from 10:30 each day. Guided tours of the castle for parties of at least 12 people can be made by prior arrangement. The castle is approximately five miles east of the A1 on the B1341 or B1342 roads. More information is available on 01668 214515