Warkworth Castle & Hermitage

Our View

Warkworth Castle is one of the most potent strongholds in northern England. The unusually-shaped keep was raised by the Earl of Northumberland in around 1390. One tower contained an elegant chapel, and there were living quarters in some others. Rainwater was collected on the roof and channelled to holding tanks in the basement, permitting a constant supply of clean water – a great luxury in a medieval castle. The Earl and his famous son, Hotspur, are perhaps the most renowned residents of the castle, for it was they who fought so hard to put Henry IV on the throne in 1399, and to force the rightful king, Richard II, to abdicate. Four years later, these two men fought equally hard to wrest the crown from Henry once more. The King promptly marched to Warkworth and blasted its walls with cannon fire until the castle surrendered. The King then gave Warkworth to his brother, later the Duke of Bedford, although it was restored to Hotspur’s son in 1416. The Percys’ political favour continued to wax and wane during the 15th century, and in 1572 Sir Thomas Percy was executed for his part in a plot against Elizabeth I. With his death, this great fortress began to decline in importance. Abutting onto the Percys’ keep were walls that formed a large enclosure containing several buildings, now mostly ruins, although the Lion Tower and the Grey Mare’s Tail Tower still stand. A short walk from the castle is a small rock-hewn chapel and stone-built outer chamber: the Hermitage. The inner part comprises a chapel and a smaller chamber, both with altars. The chapel was in fact built as a chantry, and occupied by a series of clergy from 1489 to 1536. It’s usually open in the summer.