Home Contact

NORTHUMBERLAND
Alnwick Castle Off A1068, in Alnwick The finest Italian experts in architecture, design, art and sculpture were hired by the 4th Duke of Northumberland in 1854 to turn the central keep of a Norman castle into a palace in the classical style of the Renaissance. A grand staircase of marble with vaulted and arched ceiling leads to the State Rooms. These are furnished with collections of china, furniture and pictures. The castle dates from the 11th century and has been home of the Earls, then Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. On show is the family stage Coach, the principle apartments, library, armoury, guard chamber and dungeon. In the entrance hall of the keep there are displays of weapons. The 14th century Abbot’s Tower houses the regimental museum of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.
Bamburgh Castle Off B1340, at Bamburgh Set on a crag beside the sea, a curtain wall encircles the keep that was erected in the 12th century to deter invading Scots. The outcrop on which the castle stands has been inhabited for at least 2000 years and a well 150ft deep built in Anglo-Saxon times still survives. One of the displays in the castle’s museum is a gold plaque from the 7th century depicting a creature known as ‘the Bamburgh Beast’. Until Viking raiders overran the north-east Bamburgh was one of the principle strongholds of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Northumbria. In the Middle Ages the castle survived several sieges, but in 1464, it became the first English castle to fall to gunfire. After centuries of neglect, it was restored, in Victorian times. Among the castle’s treasures are Sevres and Dresden china, Faberge animals and a display of arms and armour.
Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens On A692, 12 miles south-west of Morpeth The design for Belsay Hall was based on the classical buildings Sir Charles Monck saw on his grand tour of Europe in the 19th century. The result is a building with all the elegance and symmetry of a Greek temple. Two massive Doric columns dominate the entrance and inside there is a central courtyard surrounded by a pillar gallery. The theme is carried through in decorative detail on friezes and woodwork in the rooms leading off the central courtyard. The stable block was designed in similar classical style, with a central clock tower based on the Tower of Winds in Athens. By contrast the gardens could not be more English and include a rose garden, rhododendron garden, a winter garden and a magnolia terrace. A path leads to the 14th century Belsay Castle which once guarded the main route between Newcastle and Jedburgh. Attached to the castle is a manor house built as an extension in 1614.
Berwick Ramparts and Barracks In centre of Berwick-upon-Tweed In 1558 Mary Tudor ordered stone-faced ramparts to be built to defend the land approaches of Berwick from the Scots. However, the queen could not have realised that it would take 12 years to complete. Gateways, turrets and projecting bastions add strength to the rampart walls. The ramparts offer fantastic views including the Ravensdowne Barracks, built during the reign of George I to house the garrison manning the ramparts. The barracks today contain an exhibition tracing the history of Britain’s infantry.
Brinkburn Priory Off B6344, 4.5 miles south-east of Rothbury Set on the River Coquet, this priory was built in the 12th century as a house for Augustinian canons. Much of the monastery has crumbled and the only complete building is the church, built partly in late Norman and partly early English style, with some additions in the 14th century. In the 19th century restoration was done and in 1866 a bell was presented to the church so a timber bellcote was built. The church organ is one of the best examples of the work of the 19th century organ builder William Hill.
Chesters Fort and Museum On B6318, 7 miles north of Hexham On the bank of the North Tyne just outside Chesters Roman fort is the finest example of a Roman military bathhouse in Britain. The walls that remain suggest a building that was between a club and a Turkish bath. It had a large flagged entrance hall or changing room, a cold bath, two rooms for dry heat, two for moist heat and a hot bath set in a window bay. A charcoal furnace heated the water and provided hot air for the rooms. Chesters was a garrison for a 500-strong cavalry regiment, and although much has still to be excavated the basic shape can be seen in the remains of its streets and gateways. Relics on show in the museum include the headless statue of a goddess standing on the back of a cow, a small sculpture of a river god, iron tools, weapons, pottery and small items such as signet rings, beads, bone combs and a carved bone knife handle.
Corbridge Roman Site Off B6529, 0.5 miles north-west of Corbridge The ruined walls of imposing temples, granaries and a vast storehouse - the largest Roman building in Britain of which substantial traces remain - highlight the importance of the fort of Corstopitum. Before Hadrian’s Wall was built, troops were stationed here to guard a bridge over the Tyne and the junction between Watling Street and Stangate. Later, Corstopitum was a base for the Roman invasion of Scotland. Excavations have exposed a sunken strong-room built below the military headquarters and an elaborate water-supply system with a large stone tank, its sides worn down by soldiers sharpening their swords on the edges. Also on display are a large number of tools, the tombstone of a young girl clutching a ball, a sculpture of a women pounding clothes in a washtub and a bronze jug that contained 160 gold coins.
Cragside House and Country Park Off B6341, 1 mile east of Rothbury Cragside House is a Victorian property perched on a wooded hillside. It began as a weekend retreat but the house was transformed, over a period of 15 years, into an elaborate mansion. The mansion has mixed styles including Gothic arches and much black and white Tudor timbering. The house was also the first house in the world to be lit by electricity derived from water power. The spit in the kitchen was driven by hydraulics and so was the lift. Hydraulic apparatus pumped water to the house and kept pots containing fruit trees rotating in the green house. The interior of the house contains a lot of light oak panelling, and ranges from Old English to oriental. There is a huge two-tier renaissance-style chimneypiece of Italian marble weighing 10 tons, in the drawing room. Smaller rooms contain a clutter of charming Victoriana.
Dunstanburgh Castle Off B1339, 8 miles north-ease of Alnwick From the fishing village of Craster, a track leads to the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, which is located on a cliff-top 100ft above the sea. The entrance is through an arched passage between the massive drum towers of the gatehouse. The original gatehouse and fortifications were built between 1313 and 1322; six decades later the castle was further fortified and the gatehouse converted into a keep. The castle was twice besieged in the Wars of the Roses and badly damaged. Today the principle remains consist of the keep and three square towers, together with the ruins of the constable’s house and the castle walls. Low tide reveals the foundations of the moat, hewn out of solid rock. In a narrow inlet a quarter of a mile to the south lies the castle harbour. Here in 1514 Henry VIII’s men-of-war were discovered lying safely anchored after vanishing for three weeks during a stormy passage to the Forth.
Grace Darling Museum In centre of Bamburgh Grace Darling and her farther, keeper of the Longstone lighthouse, battled in an epic rescue of survivors from the wrecked paddle steamer Forfarshire in 1838. The boat the rowed, a Northumbrian fishing coble, is preserved, together with contemporary accounts and pictures of the wrecked ship and of the rescue. Other exhibits include Grace’s christening robe and cradle, her personal letters and gifts sent by admirers. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 26, and is buried beneath an ornate tomb in St Aiden’s churchyard.
Hexham Abbey Off A69, in Hexham Hexham Abbey is a masterpiece of Early English Gothic architecture. The present church was built between 1180 and 1250 as an Augustinian priory; however, the end of the nave was destroyed by the Scots in 1296 and only restored at the beginning of this century. Below the nave lies the crypt of an earlier church, built by St Wilfrid in AD 674, with passageways for pilgrims and an iron grille through which they could view holy relics. Other Saxon remains include St Wilfrid’s Chair, carved out of a single piece of stone. In the south transept stands a memorial to a Roman standard bearer: a naked Briton crouches below his rearing horse with a dagger in hand, ready to despatch the young Roman. In the same part of the church is a ‘night stair’ down which the monks filed from their dormitories at first light. Near the alter is a chapel which has remarkable woodwork and rough-hewn medieval stone-carvings.
Housesteads Roman Fort Off B6318, 3 miles north-east of Bardon Mill Walls up to 8ft high outline the 5 acre site of Housesteads, the best preserved Roman fort in Britain. It stands across the top of a ridge which falls away steeply to the north. Along the ridge is one of the most spectacular pieces of Hadrian’s wall, built in the 2nd century AD to guard Rome’s northernmost frontier. Housesteads was built where several Roman roads met. Today the fort gives an insight into how the guardians of the wall lived. A model of the fort is displayed in the museum on the site, shows how Homesteads might have looked in the 3rd century, with its streets, barracks, headquarters building and granaries. On three occasions the Wall and Housesteads fort were overrun and destroyed by northern tribes.
Holy Island of Lindisfarne Holy Island On this island no more than 1.5 miles across, St aiden, founded a priory in AD 635. A keystone of English Christianity, it was twice destroyed by Norse raiders before its final reduilding in the 13th century. This last priory is now a ruin. Lindisfarne Castle, a ruined 16th century fort was coverted into a private home in 1902. The island also has a National Nature Reserve.
Kielder Castle Off B6320, 15 miles north-west of Bellingham In the Kielder Forest, an 18th-century hunting lodge built for the Dukes of Northumberland now houses a Forestry Commission Visitor Centre. An exhibition explains the uses of the timber grown in the commission's plantations and how the trees were planted between 1926-1970 to form Europe's largest man-made forest. The castle is the starting point for walks and nature trails and also a 12 mile Forest Drive which follows the course of the Kielder Burn, a tributary of the North Tyne. At Blakehope Nick the drive climbs to 1500ft with views across Emblehope Moor. At Blakehopeburnhaugh there is a walk to the Three Kings, burial stones erected 2000 years ago.
Norham Castle Off B6470, 6.5 miles south-west of Berwick-upon-Tweed The 90ft high wall of a fine Norman keep, standing on the bank of the River Tweed, is the principal visible relic of a castle which in the 14th century was regarded as 'the most dangerous and adventurous place in Britain'. Built by a Bishop of Durham in the 12th century, the stone ramparts of Norham in 1318 withstood a siege by Robert Bruce. The castle's west gate is known as Marmion's Gate after the English knight Sir William Marmion, who proved his valour against the Scots. Norham was finally stormed by James IV in 1513.
Prudhoe Castle Off A695, in Prudhoe Through the gatehouse of this medieval castle is an elegant 19th-century manor house. Built by the 2nd Duke of Northumberland whose family, the Percys, have owned the castle since 1381. Unlike the ruins around it, the building is in good condition. The manor's gentle features are in striking contrast to the sturdy 5ft thick walls of the 12th-century castle. Its position on a hillside above the River Tyne, gave the castle great strategic importance. The castle was twice besieged by King William of Scotland in 1173 and 1174.
Roman Army Museum Off B6318, 2miles north-west of Haltwhistle Not far from Hadrian's wall, the museum at Carvoran re-creates the daily life of the men who guarded this outpost of the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers had to enlist for a minimum of 20 years' service. Modern techniques bring history vividly to life. Light boxes map the Roman invasion of Britain and the building of the Wall. A large-scale model provides a convincing reconstruction of the first Roman fort at Carvoran, built 40 years before Hadrian's Wall.
Seaton Delaval Hall On A190, 5 miles south of Blyth This 18th century house with its massive towers and porticoes, balustraded roofs was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Howard Castle. The interior has been restored to its original splendour, including the panelling of the Mahogany Room and the sculpted chimneypiece of the Great Hall. In the twin wings there is a vast kitchen and cavernous cathedral-like stables.
Vindolanda Off A69, 1 mile north of Bardon Mill A birthday invitation, a quarterman’s accounts and letters have all survived about 1900 years of burial beneath the Roman fort of Vindolanda, just south of Hadrian’s Wall. Though written in ink on thin wooden writing tablets, these documents were preserved in the peat soil. A photographic exhibition of finds is a feature of the Vindolanda Museum. Boots and sandals, jewellery and even sponges and feathers have all survived in good condition, and are on display. In addition the museum has a display of a Roman kitchen. Outside visitors can see the remains of the fort and the civilian settlement which sprung up outside the walls, including an inn for travellers and a brewery. These is also a full size replica of a section of Hadrian’s wall with stone and timber mile castles.
Wallington House On B6342, 16 miles west of Morpeth Wallington House was built about 1688 and transformed into a mansion during the 18th century. It contains fine regency furniture and an outstanding collection of porcelain. The plasterwork of the library, dining room and saloon, which has a magnificent rococo ceiling, dates from 1740s. The central hall has Pre-Raphaelite paintings and a balustrade copied from Ruskin's Stones of Venice. In the servants' hall an outsize Victorian doll's house, with 36 rooms, electric lights and running water gives a child's-eye view of the latest developments in domestic life in the 1880s. Carriages and shooting-brakes stand in the coach house, whilst the conservatory contains many exotic plants.
Warkworth Castle & Hermitage On A1068, 7.5 miles south-east of Alnwick A 15th century keep built in the shape of a cross dominates the castle. It is at this castle the the 1st Earl of Northumberland plotted to overthrow Henry IV. The attempted coup with the Earl fleeing to Scotland and the angry king besieging the castle. The keep is well preserved and lacks only a roof and window glass. Below are remains of graceful towers, a 12th century great hall and the foundations of a church. The English Gatehouse, is regarded as the best piece of architecture remaining in the castle. A trip across the River Coquet leads to Warkworth Hermitage which dates from the 14th century. Its tiny chapel was hewn from the rocks of the river bank and has an imitation vaulted roof and an alter with a recess above. The hermits lodgings offer more comfort. they include a kitchen, a hall with a fireplace, and an upper room.
[Home]>[Museum Finder]>[North East]>[Northumberland]