Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was the seat of the

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

and

Bennett Bennett may refer to: People *Bennett (name), including a list of people with the surname and given name Places Canada * Bennett, Alberta *Bennett, British Columbia * Bennett Lake, in the British Columbia and Yukon Territory **Bennett Range **Benn ...

(later Earls of Tankerville) families from the 15th century until the 1980s, when it became the home of Sir Edward Humphry Tyrrell Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, who is married to a member of the original Grey family. A large enclosed park in the castle grounds is home to the

Chillingham cattle Chillingham cattle, also known as Chillingham wild cattle, are a breed of cattle that live in a large enclosed park at Chillingham Castle, Northumberland, England. In summer 2022 the cattle numbers 138 animals with approximately equal numbers o ...

, a rare breed, consisting of about 130 head of white cattle. The castle is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. In addition to the castle itself, a number of structures on the grounds of the castle are listed

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

. These include the West Lodge and gateway, the garden wall to the west, the gateway and garden wall to the north, the gateway and garden wall to the south east, and the garden wall to the west. A pair of urns in the Italian Garden are also listed Grade II.

History

The castle was originally a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in the late 12th century. In 1298,

King Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

stayed at the castle on his way to Scotland to battle a Scottish army led by

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

. A glazed window in a frame was specially installed for the king, a rarity in such buildings at the time. The castle occupied a strategically important location in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

times: it was located on the border between two feuding nations. It was used as a staging post for English armies entering Scotland, but was also repeatedly attacked and besieged by Scottish armies and raiding parties heading south. The site contained a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, and in some locations the fortifications were thick. The building underwent a harsh series of enhancements, and in 1344 a

Licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...

was issued by

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

to allow

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

s to be built, effectively upgrading the stronghold to a fully fortified

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

, of

quadrangular Quadrangle or The Quadrangle may refer to: Architecture * Quadrangle (architecture), a courtyard surrounded by a building or several buildings, often at a college Various specific quadrangles, often called "the quad" or "the quadrangle": North ...

form.

Chillingham Castle from the Italian Garden

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

, Queen of Scotland, and her children stayed in the castle on their way to London on 6 June 1603. In 1617,

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

, whose reign unified the crowns of England and Scotland (James I of England was also James VI of Scotland), stayed at the castle on a journey between his two kingdoms. As relations between the two countries became peaceful following the union of the crowns, the need for a military stronghold in the area declined. The castle was gradually transformed; the moat was filled, and battlements were converted into residential wings. A

banquet hall A banquet hall, function hall, or reception hall, is a special purpose room, or a building, used for hosting large social and business events. Typically a banquet hall is capable of serving dozens to hundreds of people a meal in a timely fashion. Pe ...

and a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

were built. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the grounds underwent

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...

, including work carried out by Sir

Jeffry Wyattville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

. The once extensive park is now under a separate ownership from the castle. The Prince and Princess of Wales stayed at Chillingham Castle en route to Scotland, in 1872. Chillingham Castle great hall

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the castle was used as an army barracks. During this time, much of the decorative wood is said to have been stripped out and burned by the soldiers billeted there. After the war, the castle began to fall into disrepair. Lead had been removed from the roof, resulting in extensive weather damage to large parts of the building. The castle and estate remained linked with the Earls of Tankerville until Peter Bennett, 10th Earl of Tankerville, succeeded in 1980. Soon after this, the landed estate was broken up and sold. In 1982, the castle was bought by Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, whose wife Catherine is descended from the Greys of Chillingham, and Wakefield set about a painstaking restoration of the castle. In 1997, the castle was used as a filming location for ''

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

'', featuring as Leith Castle and as the hunting lodge. The fibreglass fireplaces from the film remain in the great hall, covering 18th century white marble fireplaces from

Wanstead House Wanstead House was a mansion built to replace the earlier Wanstead Hall. It was commissioned in 1715, completed in 1722 and demolished in 1825. Its gardens now form the municipal Wanstead Park in the London Borough of Redbridge. History Construct ...

. As of 2020, sections of the castle are open to the public including for late night ghost tours, and eight apartments within the castle and its outbuildings are available for holiday rentals.

Chillingham's ghosts

The current owners market the castle as being the most haunted castle in Britain. It has been investigated on television, ''

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken seri ...

'', ''The "How Haunted?" Podcast'', ''

I'm Famous and Frightened! ''I'm Famous and Frightened!'' is a Living TV reality TV show in which eight celebrities stayed for three nights in a "haunted" castle. They had to then do terrifying challenges to raise money for charity; each one was evicted until only the wi ...

'', ''

Scariest Places On Earth ''Scariest Places on Earth'' is an American paranormal reality television series that originally aired from October 23, 2000, to October 29, 2006, on Fox Family, and later ABC Family. The show was hosted by Linda Blair, with narration by Zelda Ru ...

'', ''

Mystery Hunters ''Mystery Hunters'' is a Canadian documentary television series aimed at a young audience. It aired on YTV in Canada and on Discovery Kids and MeTV in the United States. It was also dubbed in Japanese and aired in Japan on NHK. Teenage hosts A ...

'', ''

Holiday Showdown ''Holiday Showdown'' is a BAFTA-nominated and Royal Television Society Award-winning reality television programme, produced by Chris Kelly for the United Kingdom independent TV production company RDF Media Banijay (formerly Banijay Enter ...

'', '' Alan Robson's Nightowls'', '' The ParaPod'', ''

Ghost Hunters International ''Ghost Hunters International'' (abbreviated as ''GHI'') is a spin-off series of '' Ghost Hunters'' that aired on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi). The series premiered on January 9, 2008, and ended on April 4, 2012. Like its parent series, ''GHI'' was ...

'', ''A Blood Red Sky'' (2013), ''Celebrity Ghost Trip'' and ''Have a Word Podcast''. Some of these ghosts are referred to in a 1925 pamphlet by Leonora, Countess of Tankerville. The most famous

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

of the castle is the "blue (or radiant) boy", who according to the owners used to haunt the Pink Room in the castle.

In literature

In the novel ''

The Bride of Lammermoor ''The Bride of Lammermoor'' is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1819, one of the Waverley novels. The novel is set in the Lammermuir Hills of south-east Scotland, shortly before the Act of Union of 1707 (in the first editio ...

'' (1819) by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

, Chillingham Castle is singled out as a last refuge for an ancient breed of Scottish cattle. The castle and cattle served as inspiration for Eva Ibbotson's 2005 children's book, ''

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle ''The Beasts of Clawstone Castle'' is a 2005 children's fantasy book by Eva Ibbotson. The plot concerns the theft of wild cattle from a Scottish borders castle, and their recovery by children helped by friendly ghosts. The novel's setting was ...

''.

Gallery

File:Chillingham Castle south front.jpg, The south front File:Chillingham Castle courtyard.jpg, Inside the courtyard File:Chillingham Castle Garden.jpg, Italian garden from the battlements File:Chillingham Castle, Chapel Window (34448467795).jpg, Chapel window File:Roman breed of cattle (18703665186).jpg, Chillingham cattle File:Mounted statue and woodland ride, Chillingham Castle.jpg, Statue of

Viscount Gough Hugh Gough,1st Viscount Gough Viscount Gough, of Goojerat in the Punjab and of the city of Limerick, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1849 for the military commander Hugh Gough, 1st Baron Gough. He had alread ...

File:Chillingham-symbol.jpg, 'Bat' weather vane on top of castle

References

External links

*
The medieval Castle of Chillingham: the most haunted castle in Britain
{{Authority control Castles in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Gardens in Northumberland Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland Grey family residences Historic house museums in Northumberland Reportedly haunted locations in North East England

History

Chillingham's ghosts

In literature

Gallery

See also

References

External links