Warkworth Castle and Hermitage, Northumberland
An Impressive Fortress That Was Home to the Powerful Percy Family
Jun 17, 2009
Evidence of human occupation around Warkworth dates from Neolithic times. Cup-and-ring markings, like those found scattered throughout Northumberland, can be seen on the crags above the riverbank. There was a religious settlement here during the Anglo-Saxon era, from the 8th century, though little is documented.
History of Warkworth Castle
There appears to have been a castle at Warkworth during the 12th century, when King Henry II granted the region to Roger fitzEustace, whose family strengthened and extended it. At the beginning of the 14th century, Warkworth was acquired by the Percy family, who dominated Northumbrian history for the next five hundred years.
This was a period of political turbulence, starting with the Anglo-Scottish wars instigated during the reign of Edward I, and continuing through the Wars of the Roses. Sometimes, the Percys fought on the winning side. Sometimes they supported the losers, with predictable consequences.
Henry Percy, First Earl of Northumberland, and his son, Harry Hotspur, were instrumental in deposing Richard II and installing Henry IV to the throne. They later rebelled against the king, and by losing, forfeited Warkworth, though it was later restored to the family. The events of this period provide the action of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I, which has scenes set in Warkworth Castle.
During the Wars of the Roses, Warkworth became a Lancastrian stronghold, though it fell into the hands of the Yorkists, and was again, for a short time, lost to the Percys.
Throughout this period of conflict, the original motte-and-bailey castle was added to, giving the structure which, though largely a ruin today, still has much that is intact, and dominates the small town that shelters beneath it, in the loop of the river.
Features of Warkworth Castle
Warkworth Castle is entered across a footbridge. Visitors who use the English Heritage car park to the south of the castle can re-claim the parking fee on admission. Included in the admission price is an audio recorder in which one can listen to a description of the castle's features and an account, often humorous, of its history and the conditions under which the inhabitants lived.
The footbridge leads through the Gatehouse into the bailey, where the foundations of the castle's component buildings are laid out, map-like, around the inside of the curtain wall. To the right are remains of the stable block. At the south-east corner is the Montagu Tower, built in the late 1460s, while the centre of the east wall is occupied by the strangely-named Grey Mare's Tail Tower.
The west wall is more complex. At its southern corner are the Great Chamber and Carrickfergus Tower, which date from the early 13th century. The Great Hall, Little Stair Tower and Lion Tower were built in the late 15th century by the 4th Earl of Northumberland, and comprise the main living quarters. The Lion Tower is notable for its sculptures depicting the arms of the Percy family and an emblematic lion.
Running across the centre of the bailey, linking the east and west walls are the foundations of the Collegiate Church, which was begun in 1480, but never completed.
The northern end of the castle is occupied by the Great Tower. Commissioned by the 1st Earl, this is remarkably well preserved, with many of its rooms virtually intact. Its three floors contain a maze-like system of stairways, passages and cellars linking a second Great Hall with a chapel, kitchens, store rooms, bed chambers and administrative facilities. Its north, exterior wall, which looks out over the town, holds another carved lion, emphasising the power of the Percys. The Great Tower was used to represent the Tower of London in the 1997 Cate Blanchett film, Elizabeth.
St Lawrence's Church and Fortified Bridge
Warkworth town is confined by the loop in the river. At its northern limit stands St Lawrence's Church. A chapel has stood on this site since 737AD, and may represent the first permanent settlement. The present church dates from the 12th century, and though it has been altered since then, it retains its Norman pillars and windows and mediaeval oak roof beams.
Downriver of the church is the 14th century fortified bridge, one of the few remaining in England. It was in continuous use, carrying traffic, until 1965, when a bridge was built alongside it. It now carries only pedestrians.
Warkworth Hermitage
Half-a-mile upstream of the town, on the northern riverbank, and accessible only by boat, is The Hermitage. This consists of an ornately designed, and still consecrated chapel and inner chamber, carved, cave-like, out of a crag that rises above the river. Constructed around 1400AD, it is surrounded by legend as to its origins. In reality, rather than hermits, it was occupied by a succession of priests, who received respectable payment, in goods and money, for their prayers. The Hermitage is open only on Wednesdays and Sundays from April to September.
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