Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh written history begins in the times of the Anglo-Saxons with one chronicler citing Bamburgh as probably the most important place in all of England. But even before this there were people living here, there is archaeological evidence that as early as 10,000 BC there were people here. There are Bronze Age (2,400 -700BC) burials nearby and pottery sherds dating to the Iron Age (700 BC – 43 AD). With little evidence of their occupation only the name Din Guayrdi gives us a hint that Romans were sometime between 43 AD and 410 AD.
Spanning nine acres of land on its rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country.
Patterns on the seashore, made by the retreating water.
As the castle is in fact privately owned, we were restricted as to where we could roam, but I managed a few images to give a sense of the scale of this `private residence` !
Hopefully these are not needed anymore.
This bell was in the grounds but I am unable to find why it was there. The names on it are all churchmen of 1800`s.
It was during the early medieval period between 411 AD and 1066 AD that Bamburgh grew in stature and importance. With the arrival of the Saxons, the creation of an important Christian site and the coming and going of the saints Oswald, Aidan and Cuthbert, it was a pivotal time. Following this period we saw the arrival of the Normans and the construction of our Great Tower, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses with the siege of 1464. The arrival of the Foster family, gifted the ruins by James 1 with the subsequent acquisition by Lord Crewe and the formation of the Crewe Trustees. A resurgence in stature as under the guidance of John Sharpe the castle became a leading surgery and dispensary for the poor and sick.
Finally the castle passed into the hands of the First Lord Armstrong, with the intention of creating a respite home he passed away before its restoration was complete and became the Armstrong family home. It is still owned by the Armstrong Family who opened it up to visitors in the mid 1900’s and remains to this day an icon of the North East of England.
War memorial in Bamburgh. Portland stone cross with figure mounted on square plinth. Set within a rocky niche which has bronze plaques set into it. Designed by Messrs Hicks and Charewood with sculpture by Mr Milburn. Unveiled 1921
According to Bede, St Aidan built a wooden church outside the castle wall in AD 635, and he died here in AD 652; (a wooden beam preserved inside the church is traditionally said to be the one on which he rested as he died). The present church dates from the late 12th century (though some pre-conquest stonework survives in the north aisle). The chancel, said to be the second longest in the country (60 ft), was added in 1230; it contains an 1895 reredos in Caen stone by W.S. Hicks, depicting northern saints of the 7th and 8th centuries.
For the uninitiated, a reredos is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images.
The church contains a 14th-century tomb recess with an effigy of a Knight. There are wall monuments to: Sir Claudius Forster, 1st Baronet of 1623, the Forster family of 1711, the Sharpe memorial 1839 by Chantrey.
The north aisle contains an effigy of local heroine Grace Darling dating from 1844 by Charles Raymond Smith. This formed part of the original Monument to Grace Darling in the churchyard but was later replaced due to deterioration of the stonework. The memorial is placed so that it can be seen by passing ships
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