Warkworth Castle, Northumberland

by Henry Summerson

Warkworth Castle, near Alnwick in Northumberland, is an example of a medieval aristocratic fortified residence. It is a large, complex and ancient structure. Every century from the 12th to the 20th left its mark on it. Its development came to comprise, in effect, two castles, one laid out round the outer bailey and the other in the keep. This handbook explains the history of the castle, from its beginnings to the reign of Henry VIII. It explains the purpose of the castle and its position in medieval society. There is also a descriptive tour of the remaining buildings, written as if the reader were visiting the site in 1532.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Dr Henry Summerson began a wide-ranging career as the historian attached to the Carlisle Archaeological Unit – his two-volume history of medieval Carlisle appeared in 1993. After several years working for English Heritage, he was for thirteen years medieval, then Tudor, Research Editor with the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, for which he has so far written 165 articles. When subsequently employed by the Oxford Holinshed Project he discovered some missing passages from the eleventh-century Vita Ædwardi Regis. He also maintains a specialised interest in crime and law enforcement in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England, and has published editions of the crown pleas of the 1238 Devon eyre and of the 1268 Wiltshire eyre.