Bamburgh Castle

Bamburgh Castle is a castle on the coast at Bamburgh, Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building. During WW2 the Royal Navy ship HMS Bamborough Castle was named after it.

History

The castle is built on the remains of a fort of native Britons. The fort was destroyed by the Vikings in 993.^[1]^[2]

The Normans then built a new castle on the site. That forms the centre of today's castle. The castle became the property of the reigning English Monarch. Many think that Henry II ordered the creation of the keep.

During the Wars of the Roses, it became the first castle in England to be defeated by artillery, after a nine-month siege.^[3] The Forester family of Northumberland provided the Crown with governors of the castle for 400 years, before the Crown granted ownership to Sir John Forester. When the family became bankrupt, the castle was sold to a series of owners. Eventually it was bought by the Armstrong family, who still own it today. They opened it to the public.

Media and myths

The castle has been used in movies including Macbeth (1971) and Robin of Sherwood (1984-6).^[4] It has also been featured in many books. The late medieval British author Thomas Malory suggested that it was Joyous Gard, the mythical home of Sir Lancelot from tales of King Arthur.^[5]

Bamburgh Castle Media

Aerial photograph from 1973 showing the position of the castle, northeast of Bamburgh village
An 1825 plan of the castle
"Bamborough Castle from the Northeast, with Holy Island in the Distance, Northumberland" by John Varley (1827; Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Bamburgh Castle from afar
Bamburgh Castle - 27217397836
Bamburgh Castle - geograph.org.uk - 2060766
Cannons at Bamburgh Castle - geograph.org.uk - 4087388