Menu
 
Portfolio
 
Terms of Use
 

Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated in the town of the same name in County Durham.

A stone castle was built on the site of an earlier defended position from around 1095 to 1125 by Guy de Balliol. Between 1125 and 1185 his nephew Bernard de Balliol and his son Bernard II extended the building.

In 1216 the castle was besieged by Alexander II, King of Scotland. It was still held by the Balliol family although its ownership was disputed by the Bishops of Durham. When John Balliol was deposed as King of Scotland in 1296 the castle was passed to the Bishop of Durham. Around 1300 Edward I granted it to the Earl of Warwick. In the 15th century, the castle passed by marriage to the Neville family. In 1477 during the Wars of the Roses, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) took possession of the castle, which became one of his favorite residences.

 

Over the next two centuries, the Nevilles enlarged and improved the estate and created a substantial and impressive castle. During the Rising of the North, Sir George Bowes shut himself up in the castle, where he was besieged. Following the failure of the revolt, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland was attainted for his leading role in the Rising of the North and the Neville estates were sequestered. In 1626 the Crown sold the castle and also the Neville property at Raby Castle to Sir Henry Vane.

Vane decided to make Raby his principal residence and Barnard Castle was abandoned and its contents and much of its masonry were removed for the maintenance and improvement of Raby.

 

More posts..

Seven Sisters Round Barrow

  Older than Stonehenge, the Seven Sisters Round Barrow, Copt Hill, Houghton-le-Spring was excavated in 1877. They found objects from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. A burial urn that they found is now in the British Museum. In 2003 a sample of charcoal was

Read More
Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth CastleKenilworth Castle was founded in the early 1120s by Geoffrey de Clinton, Lord Chamberlain, and treasurer to Henry I. The castle’s original form is uncertain. It has been suggested that it consisted of a motte, an earthen mound surmounted by wooden buildings; however, the

Read More
Tower of London

Victorious at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the invading Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, spent the rest of the year securing his holdings by fortifying key positions. He founded several castles along the way, but took a circuitous route toward London;

Read More
Lancaster Castle

Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune. In 1164, the

Read More
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
error: