 The
castle was built during the first part of the 12th century on
a hill overlooking a loop of the River Croquet.
In
1173 the castle was besieged and taken by the Scottish king, William the Lion.
In the 13th century the castle was given by Henry II
to Robert Clavering who made the building a serious fortification. He built the
impressive gatehouse and two towers greatly adding to the earlier stonework and also
improved the Great Hall, chapel and other domestic buildings.
The castle became part of the chain of defence, with
Bamburgh and Alnwick, against the Scots. The castle was besieged twice by the Scots
in 1327 but this time the defences held.
In 1332 the castle passed from the Clavering family to the
Percy family. The unusually shape keep was built in 1390. It is basically a
square with towers projecting on each of its four sides. The castle became a
favourite residence of the Percys but in 1405 was besieged and taken by Henry IV when the
3rd Percy, Lord of Warworth was involved in Archbishop Scrope's rebellion against the
king.
After that date the Percy family was involved in various
transgressions which resulted in the confiscation of their lands but it was always
restored to them in time.
During the 14th and 15th centuries
the Percys carried out major additions and alterations.
The castle was kept in good repair until the mid-16th century.
Thereafter the Percy family spent more time in the Tower of
London than at the on their estates and the castle fell into
a decline.
Today the castle is a ruin and reflects the fact that the
Percy family, dukes of Northumberland, chose to rebuild Alnwick
Castle as their principal residence. |
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Warkworth
Castle
