Bamburgh ( ) is a village and civil parish on the coast of Northumberland, England. It had a population of 454 in 2001, decreasing to 414 at the 2011 census. The village is notable for the nearby Bamburgh Castle, a castle which was the seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and for its association with the Victorian era heroine Grace Darling, who is buried there. The extensive beach by the village was awarded the Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. The Bamburgh Dunes, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, stand behind the beach. Bamburgh is popular with holidaymakers and is within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

The site now occupied by Bamburgh Castle was previously home to a fort of the

Celtic Britons The Britons ( *''Pritanī'', la, Britanni), also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons, were people of Celtic language and culture who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point th ...

known as ''Din Guarie'' and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia, the realm of the Gododdin people, from the realm's foundation in c. 420 until 547, the year of the first written reference to the castle. In that year, the citadel was captured by the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

ruler Ida of Bernicia (Beornice) and became Ida's seat. The Anglo-Saxons called the place ''Bebbanburh'', meaning "Queen Bebba's stronghold"; this was later corrupted into the modern "Bamburgh". Aidan of Lindisfarne came to this area from the monastery of Iona in 635 on behalf of King

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642, however there is some question as to whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology an ...

. Following the defeat of Northumbrian forces by the Viking Great Heathen Army, at York in 867, the united Kingdom of Northumbria disintegrated. The limited evidence available suggests that north-east Northumbria – centred on the future

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Northumberland and

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

– remained an independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom, with Bamburgh its de facto capital. (During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, southern Northumbria was controlled by Vikings in the form of the Danelaw, while north-west Northumbria became part of the late British kingdom of Strathclyde.) The late medieval village began to develop near the castle. During the Dissolution of the Monasteries the property of the friars, including the castle, were seized on behalf of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. Late medieval British author Thomas Malory identified Bamburgh Castle with Joyous Gard, the mythical castle home of Sir Lancelot in Arthurian legend.

St Aidan's Church

According to

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

, St Aidan built a wooden church outside the castle wall in AD 635, and he died here in AD 652. A wooden beam preserved inside the church is traditionally said to be the one on which he rested as he died. The present church dates from the late 12th century, though some pre- conquest stonework survives in the north aisle. The chancel, said to be the second-longest in the country (60 ft; 18m), was added in 1230; it contains an 1895

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

in Caen stone by W.S. Hicks, depicting northern saints of the 7th and 8th centuries. There is a effigy of local heroine Grace Darling in the North Aisle. This formed part of the original

Monument to Grace Darling The Monument to Grace Darling, in the churchyard of St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh, Northumberland is a Victorian Gothic memorial. The monument was designed by Anthony Salvin, with later renovations by Frederick Wilson, C. R. Smith and W. S. Hicks. ...

but was removed due to weathering of the stonework. Her memorial is sited in the churchyard in such a position that passing ships can see it. The property has been Grade I listed since December 1969. The listing summary includes this description:

"Parish church. C12, C13 and C14. Restored 1830 and later C19. Squared stone and ashlar; chancel and north transept have stone slate roofs; other roofs not visible. West tower, nave, aisles, transepts and chancel".

Note that after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid 1500s, the monks were forced to leave and St Aidan's became the parish church for the village. Over the subsequent centuries major repairs and restorations have been completed. The church's crypt holds the remains of 110 individuals who died in the 7th and 8th centuries; they had initially been buried in the castle's Bowl Hole graveyard. The remains were found during a project between 1998 and 2007. Finally, in 2016, they were moved into the crypt. Since November 2019, the crypt can be viewed by visitors through a small gate.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

of the same name exists. This ward includes Belford and also stretches south to Ellingham with a total population taken at the 2011 census of 4,846.

In popular culture

Bamburgh Castle, under its Saxon name Bebbanburg, is the home of Uhtred, the main character in Bernard Cornwell's ''

The Saxon Stories ''The Saxon Stories'' (also known as ''Saxon Tales''/''Saxon Chronicles'' in the US and ''The Warrior Chronicles'' and most recently as ''The Last Kingdom'' series) is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the birth of En ...

'' In the Netflix series of Cornwell's books, The Last Kingdom, Bamburgh is the hereditary seat of protagonist Uhtred Ragnarson, a Saxon heir apparent usurped by his uncle Ælfric. The series follows Uhtred's attempts to re-establish his rightful status as ealderman of Bamburgh. Bamburgh is also featured in the open-world video game series Forza Horizon 4 released in October 2018. Additionally, Bamburgh is featured in the Realtime Strategy video game Ancestors Legacy released in 2018.

Notable people

* Æthelfrith of Northumbria * William George Armstrong * Joe Baker-Cresswell * Ida of Bernicia * Prideaux John Selby * Grace Darling * Uhtred the Bold

Photo gallery

File:Bamburgh from the castle - geograph.org.uk - 72471.jpg, Bamburgh village and surroundings File:Bamburgh - geograph.org.uk - 42007.jpg, Bamburgh seen from the castle File:The Grace Darling memorial - geograph.org.uk - 1263594.jpg, Grace Darling memorial in the churchyard File:The Grace Darling Museum - geograph.org.uk - 1263588.jpg, The Grace Darling Museum, opposite the church File:Crossroads in Bamburgh - geograph.org.uk - 344623.jpg, Crossroads in the village, looking towards the castle Image:Bamburgh castle268.jpg, Beach and castle, looking south Image:Bamburgh map 1947.jpg, A map of Bamburgh from 1947

Bamburgh Lighthouse

References

External links

Bamburgh Photos

Local History and Information on Bamburgh, The Farne Islands and surrounding areas.

Photos by Peter Loud

Bamburgh Online

(Accessed: 5 November 2008)

(Accessed: 5 November 2008)
Trinity House
{{authority control Villages in Northumberland Capitals of former nations Populated coastal places in Northumberland Civil parishes in Northumberland