Qualla: Warkworth Castle

Warkworth Castle: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Becks, CC BY 2.0. Shakespeare set a scene of Henry IV here, and the Percy family -- earls and later dukes of Northumberland -- held Warkworth for so long that the castle's story is essentially theirs. But the most striking thing about Warkworth is not its history of rebellion and siege. It is the keep. Built in the form of a Greek cross in the late fourteenth century, probably by the mason John Lewyn, it was described by the architectural historian John Goodall as "a masterpiece of medieval English architecture." Carved angels carrying shields once crowned its parapet. A great stone lion, painted in the Percy colours, glared north toward Scotland from its face.

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Becks | CC BY 2.0

Warkworth Castle: The River Loop

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Draco2008 from UK, CC BY 2.0. Warkworth Castle occupies a superb defensive position at the southern end of a loop in the River Coquet, less than a mile from the Northumberland coast. The river wraps around three sides of the village, and the castle guards the narrow neck of land connecting the loop to the cou...

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Draco2008 from UK | CC BY 2.0

Warkworth Castle: The Percys Take Hold

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Donald Brydon, CC BY-SA 2.0. The castle changed hands through inheritance and royal grant until 1345, when the Percy family took possession. By the late fourteenth century, the Percys were the most powerful dynasty in northern England -- "for they have the hertes of the people by north and ever had," as the ...

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Donald Brydon | CC BY-SA 2.0

Warkworth Castle: Rebellion and Decline

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ann Cook, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Percy earls were not content with regional power. The 1st Earl helped dethrone Richard II and then rebelled against Henry IV. His son Harry Hotspur died at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, and the castle surrendered under threat of bombardment. During the Wars of the Roses, ...

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Ann Cook | CC BY-SA 2.0

Warkworth Castle: The Keep's Ingenious Design

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0. Goodall believed the keep was used only for short stays, with the great hall in the west range serving as the preferred residence for longer visits. But the keep itself was a self-contained residence of remarkable sophistication. The ground floor held food and wine stores, plus a...

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Humphrey Bolton | CC BY-SA 2.0

Warkworth Castle: Ruin and Recovery

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kirsty Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0. The English Civil War brought further damage. Initially held by Royalists, the castle was forced to surrender when the Scots invaded in 1644. After the last Percy earl died in 1670, the property eventually passed to Hugh Smithson, who married the Percy heiress, adopted the surnam...

Read more: Warkworth Castle on Qualla

Image: Kirsty Smith | CC BY-SA 2.0