View source for Edlingham Castle

{{Short description|Grade I listed castle in Northumberland, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name = Edlingham Castle
|location=[[Northumberland]], [[England]]
|type=[[Castle]]
|map_type =  United Kingdom Northumberland
|image = Edlingham Castle - Northumberland - England - 2004-10-31.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Edlingham Castle
|open_to_public=Yes
|controlledby = [[English Heritage]]
|coordinates = {{Coord|55.376755|-1.818420|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Edlingham Castle''' is a small [[castle]] ruin, having [[scheduled monument]] and [[Listed building|Grade I listed building]] status, in the care of [[English Heritage]]. It is located in a valley to the west of [[Alnwick]], [[Northumberland]], England. It has been described as "...one of the most interesting in the county",  by [[Nikolaus Pevsner]], the architectural historian.<ref>Pevsner N. ''Buildings of England: Northumberland''. Penguin Books, 1957.</ref> [[Edlingham]] itself is little more than a hamlet with a church alongside the castle.

The ruins are mostly laid low, though much of the [[solar (room)|solar]] tower<ref>Robert Liddiard (Editor) {{google books|tYbgDQAAQBAJ|Late Medieval Castles|pages=66-68}}</ref> still stands despite an impressive crack running several storeys down to ground level. The foundations and part of the walls of the [[hall house]], [[gatehouse]], [[barbican]] and other courtyard buildings are still visible, most dating from the 16th century.

The castle – more properly a fortified [[manor house]] typical of many [[Middle Ages|medieval]] houses in the [[Northern England|North of England]] – guards one of the few approaches to [[Alnwick]] through the hills to its west. Its fortifications were increased in response to the [[Wars of Scottish Independence|border warfare]] which raged between England and [[Scotland]] in the period from about 1300 to 1600.

==History==
[[Image:Ed pano.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|View of Edlingham Castle ruins from the gatehouse]]
By 1174, a John of Edlingham owned a manor house at this location. In 1294, a descendant, Walter of Edlingham, sold it to [[Felton family#Felton of Edlingham|William de Felton]]. He strengthened it by building strong ramparts and a gatehouse, fortifying the main hall, and adding other buildings inside a courtyard. In 1396 Elizabeth de Felton inherited it, marrying Sir Edmund Hastings, who added a strong solar tower. Their descendants occupied the castle and estate until 1514. It was purchased by George Swinburne, a constable of Prudhoe, whose family held it until the 18th century.

During this time it gradually fell into disrepair, with most of the buildings dismantled in the 1660s to build nearby farmhouses, but leaving the solar tower intact. In 1978 the [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Department for the Environment]] acquired the site and conducted extensive [[archaeology|archaeological]] excavations, prior to which rubble filled the solar tower to a height of three metres.

The site is now in the care of [[English Heritage]] and is easily accessible from the nearby church of [[St John the Baptist, Edlingham]]. William de Felton is buried there. An interpretation board is on-site, while more detailed leaflets are available from the church for a small donation.

<!-- ==See also== -->

==References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*John Dodds. ''Bastles and Belligerents, Medieval Strongholds in Northumberland'', Keepdate Publishing {{ISBN|1-899506-45-4}}
*T H Rowland. ''Medieval Castles, Towers, Peles and Bastles of Northumberland'', Sandhill Press Ltd 1994 {{ISBN|0-946098-24-7}}

{{commons category|Edlingham Castle}}

==External links==
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3820547 Photos of Edlingham Castle and surrounding area], Geograph website
*[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/edlingham-castle/ Edlingham Castle: Visitor information], English Heritage

{{Castles in North East England}}
{{English Heritage properties in North East England}}
{{Locations of Bastle houses in the United Kingdom}}

<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Castles in Northumberland]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Northumberland]]
[[Category:History of Northumberland]]
[[Category:Grade I listed castles]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Ruins in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Ruined castles in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed ruins]]