Chillingham Castle
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Chillingham Castle
| location = Chillingham, Northumberland, England
| image = Chillingham Castle north front.jpg
| caption = The north front
| building_type = Castle
| start_date = 12th century
| coordinates = {{Coord|55.526|-1.905|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| map_type = United Kingdom Northumberland
| owner = Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet
| number_of_suites = 8
| website = {{URL|https://chillingham-castle.com/}}
}}
Chillingham Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Chillingham in the northern part of Northumberland, England. It was the seat of the Grey and Bennet (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, a rare breed, consisting of about 130 head of white cattle.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210915-a-british-beast-rarer-than-the-panda|work=BBC Future|title=A British beast rarer than the panda|first=Daniel|last=Stables|date=16 September 2021|accessdate=19 September 2021}}
The castle is a Grade I listed building.{{NHLE|num=1042387|desc=Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}}
In addition to the castle itself, a number of structures on the grounds of the castle are listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England. These include the West Lodge and gateway,{{NHLE|num=1042394|desc=West Lodge and gateway to Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}} the garden wall to the west,{{NHLE|num=1042388|desc=Garden wall to west of Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}} the gateway and garden wall to the north,{{NHLE|num=1232691|desc=Gateway and garden wall to north of Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}} the gateway and garden wall to the south east,{{NHLE|num=1232716|desc=Garden wall and gateway south east of Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}} and the garden wall to the west.{{NHLE|num=1370908|desc=Garden wall to west of drive circa 100 yards north west of Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}}
A pair of urns in the Italian Garden are also listed Grade II.{{NHLE|num=1232847|desc=Pair of sandstone urns in the Italian Garden, Chillingham Castle|access-date=31 May 2020|mode=cs2}}
History
File:Chillinghamcastlemorris edited.jpg
The castle was originally a monastery in the late 12th century. In 1298, King Edward I stayed at the castle on his way to Scotland to battle a Scottish army led by William Wallace. 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 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, and in some locations the fortifications were {{convert|12|ft|m|abbr=off}} thick.
The building underwent a harsh series of enhancements, and in 1344 a Licence to crenellate was issued by King Edward III to allow battlements to be built, effectively upgrading the stronghold to a fully fortified castle, of quadrangular form.
File:Chillingham Castle from the Italian Garden.jpg
At the Union of the Crowns, Anne of Denmark, Queen of Scotland, and her children stayed in the castle on their way to London on 6 June 1603.HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 15 (London, 1930), p. 126. A poem celebrating her welcome at Chillingham was probably written by her secretary, William Fowler.Allison L. Steenson, The Hawthornden Manuscripts of William Fowler (Routledge, 2021), 39–40, 193–195. In 1617, James I, 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 and a library were built.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the grounds underwent landscaping, including work carried out by Sir Jeffry Wyattville. The once extensive park is now under a separate ownership from the castle.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/734150/Britain-As-if-to-the-manor-born-part-2.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |first=Fiona |last=Duncan | title=Britain: As if to the manor born (part 2) |date=7 December 2005}}
The Prince and Princess of Wales stayed at Chillingham Castle en route to Scotland, in 1872.{{cite news |title=The Prince and Princess of Wales in Edinburgh |work=Berwickshire News and General Advertiser |date=22 October 1872}}
File:Chillingham Castle great hall.jpg. The medieval-style fireplaces are film props.]]
During the Second World War, 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.[https://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Chillingham.htm Chillingham], Northumberland County Council, accessed 13 January 2023
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 the film Elizabeth, featuring as Leith Castle and as the hunting lodge.{{cite web|url=https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/e/Elizabeth.php|title=Elizabeth : 1997|work=Movie Locations|access-date=9 January 2020}} The fibreglass fireplaces from the film remain in the great hall, covering 18th-century white marble fireplaces from the demolished Wanstead House in east London.{{cite book|title=Chillingham Castle Room & Grounds Guide|first=Humphry|last=Wakefield|publisher=Chillingham Castle}}
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.chillingham-castle.com/Ghosts.asp?S=3&V=1&P=3 |title=Ghosts |website=Chillingham Castle |accessdate=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009093630/http://www.chillingham-castle.com/Ghosts.asp?S=3&V=1&P=3 |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3626296/The-ghosts-of-a-chance.html |title=The ghosts of a chance |first=Mary |last=Wakefield |date=29 October 2004 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=9 October 2017}} It has been visited by the Most Haunted TV show.{{cite news |url=http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/castle-s-ghostly-reputation-leads-to-expansion-plans-1-227421 |first=Ian |last=Smith |title=Castle's ghostly reputation leads to expansion plans |newspaper=Berwick Advertiser |date=12 April 2007 |accessdate=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009092707/http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/castle-s-ghostly-reputation-leads-to-expansion-plans-1-227421 |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=dead }} The most famous ghost of the castle is the "blue (or radiant) boy", who according to the owners used to haunt the Pink Room in the castle.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/northernengland/722527/Northumberland-Castles-knight-in-shining-armour.html |title=Northumberland: Castle's knight in shining armour |first=Anne |last=Campbell Dixon |date=24 June 2000 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |accessdate=9 October 2017}}
In literature
In the novel The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) by Sir Walter Scott, 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.{{cite news |last=Whetstone |first=David |date=17 May 2005 |title=Eva just gets better |url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/theatre/eva-just-gets-better-4617576 |newspaper=The Journal |location=Newcastle Upon Tyne |access-date=15 February 2015 |archive-date=15 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215183816/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/culture/theatre/eva-just-gets-better-4617576 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |author= |title=Obituary: Eva Ibbotson |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-eva-ibbotson-writer-1-826121 |newspaper=The Scotsman |location=Edinburgh |date=25 October 2010 |access-date=15 February 2015}}
Chillingham Castle is the setting for the 2019 murder-mystery novel “Ryan’s Christmas” by LJ Ross.{{cite web|title=James Douglas, Chillingham Castle|url=https://ljrossauthor.com/james-douglas-chillingham-castle/|first=LJ|last=Ross|website=LJ Ross|date=2 November 2023 |access-date=1 July 2024}}{{cite web|title=Ryan's Christmas: A DCI Ryan Mystery by LJ Ross ~ Christmas can be murder…|url=https://betweenthelinesbookblog.com/2020/01/06/ryans-christmas-a-dci-ryan-mystery-by-lj-ross-christmas-can-be-murder-ljross_author-bookreview/|first=Cathy|last=Ryan|website=Between the Lines|date=6 January 2020|access-date=1 July 2024}}
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, relocated from Dublin
File:Chillingham-symbol.jpg|'Bat' weather vane on top of castle
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Chillingham Castle}}
- {{Official website|http://www.chillingham-castle.com}}
- [https://random-times.com/2018/08/23/the-medieval-castle-of-chillingham-the-most-haunted-castle-in-britain/ The medieval Castle of Chillingham: the most haunted castle in Britain]
{{Castles in North East England}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Castles in Northumberland
Category:Country houses in Northumberland
Category:Gardens in Northumberland
Category:Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Northumberland
Category:Grey family residences
Category:Historic house museums in Northumberland
Category:Reportedly haunted castles