Gazetteer of
British Place Names

Bamburgh Castle is a Norman castle on the coast in Northumberland. It has stood for over 1,400 years, sanning nine acres of land on its rocky plateau and is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country. The site was originally the location of a Celtic Brittonic fort known as Din Guarie and may have been the capital of the Kingdom of Bernicia from its foundation c. 420 to 547. In that last year, it was captured by King Ida of Bernicia. After passing between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons three times, the fort came under Anglo-Saxon control in 590. The fort was destroyed by Vikings in 993, and the Normans later built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present one. After a revolt in 1095 supported by the castles owner, it became the property of the English monarch. In 1464 during the Wars of the Roses, it was subject to a nine-month siege by Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, the Kingmaker, on behalf of the Yorkists which was the first castle in England to be defeated by artillery. In the 17th century, financial difficulties led to the castle deteriorating but it was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian era industrialist William Armstrong who completed its restoration. It is within the council area of Northumberland.
Historic England Grade I Listed 1280155.

Place Type: Mediæval Castle
Historic County: Northumberland
Lat, Long: 55.609289,-1.7107705
Grid Reference: NU183351
Police Area: Northumbria
Council Area: Northumberland
Civil Parish: Bamburgh CP
Country: England

GBPNID: 299732
Entry Type: Main listing (P)
URL: https://gazetteer.org.uk/place/Bamburgh_Castle,_Northumberland_299732

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