Warkworth Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Warcorthe

In the civil parish of Warkworth.
In the historic county of Northumberland (Modern Authority of Northumberland, 1974 county of Northumberland).

Early C12 motte and bailey castle. Rebuilt in stone circa 1139 with many alterations from the mid C12 - C16. The remains include a tower keep castle and C14 collegiate church. One tower was used as a prison in C16. The castle was reported in good repair in 1538 and from then until 1557 it became the residence of two royal officials. It was captured by the Scots in 1644 and 1645 and by soldiers of the commonwealth in 1648. Used for building materials for a house at Chirton in 1672. The Keep was repaired in C19.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 237237, 237238)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NU24710575

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 7873

County Sites and Monuments Record number; N5404

• Web site links
  • http://www.bispham2.freeserve.co.uk/castles/warkworth.htm
    http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/warkworth%20castle.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/warkworth/warkworth.php
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/81/warkworthcastle.htm
    http://britannia.com/tours/coquetdale/warkworth.html
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_Warkworth.htm
    http://www.keystothepast.info/durhamcc/K2P.nsf/K2PDetail?readform&PRN=N5404
    http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.137
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/easy_results.asp?index=1&main_query=warkworth%20castle
    http://www.bispham2.freeserve.co.uk/castles/warkworth.htm0
• Books
  • Dodds, John F., 1999, Bastions and Belligerents (Keepdate Publishing) p206-10
    Salter, Mike, 1997, The Castles and Tower Houses of Northumberland (Malvern) p104-9
    Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p144-50
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p197-9
    Jackson, M.J.,1992, Castles of Northumbria (Carlise) p126-30 [plan]
    Pevsner, N., 1992 (revised by Grundy, John et al), The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin)
    Milner, L, 1990, in Fernie, E. and Crossley, P. (eds), Medieval Architecture and its Intellectual Context p219-28
    Rowland, T.H., 1987 [reprint1994], Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland (Sandhill Press) p7, 9, 10, 52-6
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p343-4
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p313-6
    Graham, Frank, 1976, The Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Frank Graham) p338-346
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p334,339-40,343
    Toy, S. 1970. Castles of Great Britain (London) p134-6, 146
    Long, B., 1967, Castles of Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p168-9
    Pevsner, N., 1957, The Buildings of England: Northumberland (London, Penguin) p313-8
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p134-6, 146-7, 223, 247-9
    Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles [1970 Reprint by Frank Graham] p218-24
    Evans, Herbert A., 1912, Castles of England and Wales (London) p313-26
    Thompson, A. Hamilton, 1912, Military architecture in England during the Middle Ages (OUP) p48-9, 194, 219-23, 328-30
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Gotch, J. Alfred, 1909, The Growth of the English House (London: Batsford) p81-4
    Hodgson, John Crawford (ed), 1899, Northumberland County History (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) Vol5 p18-112 [written by Bates]
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p428-30
    Tomlinson, W.W., 1897, Comprehensive Guide to Northumberland (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) p409-12
    Bates, C.J., 1891, Border Holds of Northumberland (London and Newcastle: Andrew Reid) p81-166, 417-25
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p364-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p203-6
    White, W., 1859, Northumberland and the Border p157-62
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1858, Feudal and Military Antiquities of Northumberland and the Scottish Borders (London: Proceedings of the Archaeological Institute at Newcastle) Vol2 p186-211
    Scott, W., 1814, Border Antiquites of England and Scotland p11-19
    Hodgson, J. and Laird, F., 1813, Beauties of England and Wales; Northumberland Vol12 p191-2
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p223
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol4 p152-62
• Journal Articles
  • Hislop, M.J.B. 1991, 'The date of the Warkworth Donjon' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser5] Vol19 p79-92
    Curnow, P., 1976. ‘Warkworth Castle’ Archaeological Journal Vol133 p154-9 [plans]
    Harbottle, B., 1967, 'An excavation at Warkworth Castle, Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol45 p105-122
    [Harbottle, B.], 1967, Medieval Archaeology Vol11 p285
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    St Joseph, J.K., 1950, 'Castles of Northumberalnd from the air' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol28 p14-15
    Hunter Blair, C.H., 1944, 'The Early Castles of Northumberland' Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol22 p129-31 [plan of earthworks]
    Simpson, W.D., 1941, Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol19 p93-103
    Simpson, W.D., 1938, Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol15 p115-36
    Reavell, 1932, Archaeologia Aeliana [ser4] Vol9 p194-7
    Simms, R.S., 1932. Antiquaries Journal Vol12 p301-2
    1931, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol5 p87-8 [small excavation]
    1890, The Monthly Chronicle; North Country Lore and Legend p23-8
    1887, The Antiquary Vol16 p207-9 [slight]
    Clark, G.T., 1883-4, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Vol1 p203-7
    Dunn, J.W., 1863-8, History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club Vol5 p42-57 and plate 1 [weak]
    1780, Antiquarian Repertory Vol3 p171 plate
• Guidebooks
  • Summerson, Henry, 1995, Warkworth Castle (English Heritage)
    Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1986 2edn, Warkworth Castle, Northumberland (English Heritage)
    Hunter Blair, C.H. and Honeyman, H.L., 1936, Warkworth Castle, Northumberland (HMSO)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • 1415 list of Northumberland Castles [Click here]
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/nhumbeng.html#nhumb21]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p338, 343
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol5 p64