The fortress of Bamburgh survives another battle
The descendants of industrialist William Armstrong are determined his castle will not fall victim to the Covid crisis.
Bamburgh Castle sits atop a rock, 150ft above the thrashing North Sea on the Northumberland coast. It looks every bit a castle, once described as “the very cornerstone of England”, with its curtain wall, keep and castellation.
For 400 years, Bamburgh was a royal residence. Today, it is owned by Francis Watson-Armstrong, who runs the estate with his partner, Claire Thorburn, and his son William, 30. In 2005, the couple moved out of the rather impractical ancient keep and into a farmhouse on the estate, where they live with their menagerie: dogs Luca, Dan and Monty, parrot Sybil, and cobs Jack and Basil. The castle has a long history: the first written reference to Bamburgh was in AD 547, when it was captured by the Anglo-Saxon ruler Ida of Bernicia. After that point, the kings of Northumbria chose the castle as their royal capital. By AD 993, the Vikings had destroyed the original castle, and in 1095, William II attempted to besiege it.
From then, it became a royal castle; by 1164, the keep was completed, and in 1191 Sir John Forster was appointed the first governor. Legend has it that he saved the life of Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade, and was given the castle by the king in gratitude.
In 1464, the castle was the first in England to be destroyed by artillery in the Wars of the Roses. In 1610, it passed into private hands, but soon became a ruin. Responsibility fell to a board, later chaired by John Sharp, who began restoring the ruined shell and turned it into a hospital and free school. He is thought to have launched the first lifeboat there, and turned the castle into a pioneering coastguard station. It was later bought by industrialist William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, and it has been in his family ever since.
In 1854, during the Crimean War, Lord Armstrong was inspired to build the machine that would make his family’s name, a five-pounder breech-loading gun, and later an 18-pounder, which was taken up by the Army. Today, nods to the family’s industrial heritage can be spotted around Bamburgh, with guns incorporated into the plasterwork. Having made some money, in 1863, Lord Armstrong built a house called Cragside, 30 miles south of Bamburgh. Ever the engineer, he constructed five artificial lakes on the estate, used to generate hydroelectricity to light the house.
Cragside was a social base for the Armstrongs, its guest book containing names including the future Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, as well as the Shah of Persia, and the King of Siam.
Upon purchasing a ruined Bamburgh in 1894, Lord Armstrong set about restoring the house. “He spent more than £1 million [equal to about £130 million today] restoring it, but died in 1900 and never saw it finished,” says Watson-Armstrong.
The King’s Hall, hung with portraits, features a teak wooden hammer beam ceiling, a gift from the king of Siam to Lord Armstrong. Windows look out over the North Sea, and upstairs, the library contains an unusual volume. “During the Second World War, my father [and his troop] found a safe in a town hall somewhere. They dragged it through the wall, shot it open with a tank’s gun, and all that was inside it was a copy of Mein Kampf, signed by Hitler.” Today, it sits “somewhere” in the Bamburgh library.
In the armoury, muskets line the walls and suits of armour clank; downstairs, a collection of urns were a gift from the Japanese emperor. In the keep, the walls are up to 12ft deep in some parts; off the Keep Hall is a peculiar door, nicknamed the “milk bottle door,” explains Thorburn, “shaped that way so you could gallop through on a horse”. Next to it hang chains that once would have pulled in shipwrecks, their links a foot long.
When Lord Armstrong died, his estates were inherited by his greatnephew William Watson-Armstrong, Francis’s grandfather, who was created 1st Baron Armstrong in 1903. When he died in 1972, Francis’s father took over, and shortly after, gave Cragside to the National Trust.
“It broke him, doing that, and we are determined to keep this place going,” Watson-Armstrong says.
His parents – the late Lord Armstrong and the Italian Baroness MariaTeresa Chiodelli-Manzoni – met in London during the Second World War, while his father was on leave.
“Their wedding reception was at the Dorchester, and they lived at Bamburgh in an old-fashioned way. In those days it was very much ‘m’lord’ and ‘m’lady’,” he explains.
His childhood was spent between Northumberland, Knightsbridge and Capri, and when his father died in 1987, his mother took over Bamburgh. “She was pretty shrewd and ruthless. She had grown up in a smart environment – my father’s family is not really aristocracy, it’s a fairly new title, but my mother was [descended from] royalty in Italy. Her family were probably disappointed that she married a captain in the Scots Guards, but they loved each other very much.”
Usually, Watson-Armstrong and Thorburn spend parts of the year in Spain, and leave William to run the estate. “I was 22 when my father died, but William has still got his dad – if he wants advice, I give it to him,” Watson-Armstrong says. “Succession can be a big problem, but we get on well. If I were still in charge it would be a dusty old museum.”
Usually, Bamburgh is open seven days a week between February and November. This year, the castle closed just before lockdown, for only the second time in its history – the first being during the Wars of the Roses. They reopened on July 6 with a new one-way system inside, and
‘My father found an old safe. All it contained was a copy of Mein Kampf, signed by Hitler’
‘In Northumberland, we are known for being resilient. We will come through this’
are planning extended opening hours for the rest of the year. Lockdown was “commercially devastating,” says Thorburn. “There is no way Bamburgh could be privately owned if it wasn’t for the visitors,” says Watson-Armstrong. “The heating bill is more or less £500 a day in the winter.”
Now, business is getting back to normal – the holiday lets are booked up again, and day visitors can prebook online, or buy tickets on the door. The couple, who have spent much of the past few months cycling, walking and riding on the beach, are feeling optimistic. “In Northumberland we’re known for being resilient,” says Thorburn with a grin. “We’ll come through this. It’s in our nature.”