Bamburgh Castle

Castle in the village of Bamburgh on the coast of Northumberland, England. It is situated 26 km/16 mi southeast of Berwick, and is built on a rock which rises 46 m/151 ft above the North Sea. Founded in the 6th century and rebuilt in Norman times, the castle underwent extensive restoration in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bamburgh Castle - an imposing structure of red sandstone - is now open to the public.

History According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Ida, the first king of Northumbria, built a fort in Bamburgh in 547. The great stone keep was first built during the Norman period. In 1095 Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, was forced to surrender Bamburgh to William Rufus after a siege. Bamburgh was the scene of many battles in the Border wars of the 14th century; during the Wars of the Roses it changed hands several times. Henry VI ruled briefly from Bamburgh, but after the Battle of Hexham in 1464 the castle was besieged and fell after a bombardment. It was the first English castle to fall to artillery. The castle was held for over a century by the Forster family, until it was bought by Lord Crewe in 1704. On his death the estate was devoted to charity, and large-scale restoration was carried out. In 1894 the first Lord Armstrong of Cragside bought the castle and rebuilt it for private use.