Though the original fort was destroyed by the Vikings, a Norman replacement was soon built, and it became the basis for what we see today, with Henry II adding a keep. The castle was the subject of a nine month siege during the Wars of the Roses, before coming under the control of the Forster family. Since 1894, when Lord Armstrong bought it, responding to an advert in the Times, the Castle has been owned by the Armstrong family, and is opened to the public.
For more, see http://www.bamburghcastle.com/
From November 2012 until January 2013, Tired of London, Tired of Life will briefly be posting as RatherEnglish.com and featuring interesting things to do in England
Wasn't Bamburgh the site of a rather extensive archaeological project recently? I seem to remember reading about it--my boy was then very into things Saxon and Dane, and he was captured by the idea. So was I.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading.
Kris