Barnard Castle, Durham

Today, we visit Barnard Castle – the castle, not the town, although sharing the same name – is one of the most historic castles in the north of England. It has been fought over, won and lost, by some of the most famous figures in English history. It has also been claimed by nobles, bishops, and kings. Occupying a naturally defensive site overlooking the wooded gorge of the River Tees, the romantic ruins of Barnard Castle are a reminder of the importance and power of the north in medieval times.

The land now occupied by the castle was owned by the church as early as the 9th century, but in the 11th century the Earls of Northumberland seized it. The Earls then rebelled unsuccessfully against William II and the crown seized the land, and in 1095 granted it to guy de Baliol. The church argued that William had no right to grant the land, and this dispute over ownership simmered on and off for centuries.

Guy de Baliol did not hesitate, and shortly after taking possession of the land he began construction of a ringwork defence that now forms the Inner Ward. In 1125 his son Bernard rebuilt and expanded the original wooden structure. Bernard also founded the town outside the castle walls, and granted it a charter.

Later members of the Baliol family fell on hard times, this was possibly due to the expense of maintaining the castle, and in 1190 the Bishop of Durham held the castle as security for a loan to the current Baliol owner and later In 1212 King John ordered the castle to be returned to the Baliol’s.

After walking through the quiet orchard and the castles sensory garden, we have a look at some flowers that are planted ready for the summer and we make our way across the now modern bridge between the town ward and the middle ward. It replaces the original bridge that stood here. It’s here you really get to see and visualise this once great fortress. Heading across the south west of the middle ward are the stunning remains of the constables tower.

A once substantial gatehouse that controlled entry from the outer ward. The keeper of the tower was the principal official of the castle and was always in charge when the lord was absent, he would be lodged here in the tower with fantastic vantage points to control admission, the constable would have more than likely been a member of the nobility to the lord to for his important work. The plan of the tower was essentially in a rectangular shape with a central gate passageway; it had three storeys with two barrel vaulted ground floor rooms which were entered via the gate passage.

From here we walk over the great ditch and into the inner ward, but not before taking a look at the stunning viewpoint from here. The views really make this castle stand out with the dramatic sight of the castle perched on the side overlooking the river tees, the castle is such a picturesque place to see and enjoy. After enjoying the sights we head inside the castles inner ward. Back in the 12^th century we would have entered via another gatehouse, this one would have been made from timber before being rebuilt in stone at a later date with a stone wall added to enclose the ward.

But now, as we wander the remains, the first outline we see is from the west range, this part of the castle is unexcavated but they have documented that they are from the 14^th century, it seems to have contained a number of offices and apartment buildings as well as the kitchens, which were probably at it’s north end, it’s thought that from here in these kitchens the food would have been taken to a serving hatch in the south east wall of the Mortham tower, where it would have been conveyed to the great hall, keeping it under cover and hidden.

Adjoining the Mortham tower on the left and the remains of the 14^th century great hall, we make our way up to see an overview of the great chamber. It was on the first floor here and it’s only real architectural feature that still survives is the incredible oriel window in the outer wall.

This is dated back to the term when Richard III lived here, his heraldic symbol of a wild boar is carved on the underside of the lintel. There was also a grand fireplace on the first floor, which was directly above the fireplace on the ground floor. This then leads directly into the round tower, we walk inside and above the two buildings that have been integrated together. The tower is at the north west end and forms part of the curtain wall, it rises to four storeys, mostly cylindrical with a single store annex to the south east. We make our way up the service stairs and from the top you can see the various staircases, the windows and the fireplace which all suggest residential sleeping quarters.

In 1216 Scots under Alexander I invaded the north of England and besieged Barnard Castle briefly. A defender within the castle fired a crossbow bolt that killed Alexander’s brother-in-law. The castle survived that siege, but in 1264 was taken by barons supporting Simon de Montfort’s rebellion against Henry III. John de Baliol succeeded in 1228, and he became one of the richest men in England when he married Devorguilla of Galloway. John was a stern character, and he kept his wife’s illegitimate brother Thomas imprisoned in Barnard Castle for over 60 years in order to hold his Scottish lands.

When John died in 1269 Devorguilla founded Sweetheart Abbey in his honour. She also had John’s heart embalmed in a casket, which she kept with her. At mealtimes food was served as if John was present but his portion was given to the poor afterwards.

One of John Baliol’s sons, also named John, became a claimant to the vacant crown of Scotland. Edward I was called in to adjudicate among the various claimants, and selected John as the rightful king. As soon as John Baliol ascended the throne of Scotland he foreswore his allegiance to Edward, with the result that Edward invaded Scotland, seized John, and threw him in the Tower of London.

The bishops made another attempt to seize the castle in 1440, when Bishop Nevill occupied the site, but the king forced him to return it to the Beauchamps. After the Beauchamp line in the north died out the castle was granted to Anne, wife of Richard Nevill, Earl of Warwick. Nevill is known in history as ‘The Kingmaker’.

After Nevill’s death in 1471 the bishops once more claimed the castle, but it was granted to Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. When Richard became king he made great plans to enlarge and strengthen the castle, but his brief reign was brought to an end by defeat at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The castle remained in royal hands following his death.

In 1569 the castle was at the heart of events in the so-called ‘Rising of the North’, a rebellion that sought to remove Elizabeth I in favour of Mary, Queen of Scots. The castle was besieged by 5000 rebels, but the commander of the defences, Sir George Bowes, organized a stern defence. The rebels took the Outer Ward and the Town Ward, and Bowes was forced to surrender. But the delay in taking the castle meant that the rebellion was doomed, and it ended shortly after.

In 1630 the castle was sold to Sir Henry Vane, who dismantled many of the castle buildings to use the stone for rebuilding his main home at Raby Castle. A descendant, Lord Barnard of Raby, gave the castle to the crown, and it is now in the care of English Heritage.

A visit to Barnard is a fantastic one, we honestly couldn’t recommend this castle more highly, the views, the atmosphere, the history that lived and fought here and the surroundings are just wonderful and worth a visit if not just for the castle but for the town and the surrounding walks too.

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Till Next Time!