Dunstanburgh Castle

Our View

Remote, isolated, lonely and ruined, Dunstanburgh is one of the most dramatic and atmospheric castles in the north of England. Dunstanburgh, unlike many other castles, was built from scratch by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, a powerful member of the aristocracy in the reign of Edward II. Lancaster and Edward were constantly at loggerheads, especially over the favouritism shown by Edward to certain members of his court – and, in particular, to Piers Gaveston. Lancaster ordered Gaveston’s brutal murder. In the turmoil that followed, the Scots seized the opportunity to begin a series of raids in northern England, and Lancaster built Dunstanburgh ostensibly as a stronghold against a Scottish invasion but really as a retreat for from the wrath of the King. The site occupied by Dunstanburgh is large, and there would have been plenty of space for local people and their livestock to take refuge from Scottish raids within the great, thick walls that swept around the site. The sea and steep cliffs provided further protection from attack on two sides. Lancaster’s impressive gatehouse was built between 1313 and 1325, and even in its ruinous state it exudes a sense of power and impregnability. Dunstanburgh is unusual in that it acquired a second gatehouse about 60 years later. By this time, the castle had come into the hands of another duke of Lancaster, the powerful John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III. Active in negotiations with the Scots, he doubtless saw the need for his castle to be strengthened, and as a man of influence, he travelled with a sizeable entourage, all of whom would have required accommodation. Dunstanburgh was besieged by Yorkist armies during the Wars of the Roses, but by the 17th century it had become redundant and events since then have passed it by.