Norham Castle

“ Norham Castle—in the time of Marmion.
The village of Norham lies a few miles west of Berwick, upon the south bank of the Tweed,—a group of cottages clustered around a single long street. The buildings are low and are mostly roofed with dark slate or red tiles. Some of them are thatched, and grass and flowers grow wild upon the thatch. ”

“ THE PROSE MARMION. CHAPTER I. In all the border country that lies between England and Scotland, no castle stands more fair than Norham. Fast by its rock-ribbed walls flows the noble Tweed, and on its battled towers frown the hills of Cheviot. ”

“ The Greys of Chillinghame Castle were frequently the castellans, or captains of the garrison: Yet, as the castle was situated in the patrimony of St. Cuthbert, the property was in the see of Durham till the Reformation. After that period, it passed through various hands. At the union of the crowns, it was in the possession of Sir Robert Carey, (afterwards Earl of Monmouth,) for his own life, and that of two of his sons. After King James’s accession, Carey sold Norham Castle to George Home, Earl of Dunbar, for L6000. See his curious Memoirs, published by Mr. Constable of Edinburgh. ”

“ Except a few dwellings of the 16th century in Newcastle, and some mansions built after the Union of England and Scotland, the older houses are all castles. A survey of 1460 mentions thirty-seven castles and seventy-eight towers in Northumberland, not probably including all the bastle-houses or small peels of the yeomen. At the Conquest Bamburgh, the seat of the Saxon kings, was the only fortress north of York. Norham Castle was built in 1121. None of the baronial castles are older than the time of Henry I. A grass mound represents Wark Castle. ”

“ The people in the vicinity, who are all Scotch Presbyterians, do not attend these services, the select congregation being formed by 'the quality'—the gentry and nobility, who have their country seats near by.
The readers of 'Marmion' will, of course, remember Norham and Twisell castles. The former, as seen, from the railways, is a most uninviting pile of rude masonry, worn and broken by time and decay; but a nearer inspection reveals many phases of interest. The castle stands on the summit of a cliff, overhanging the Tweed, yet almost buried in rich foliage. ”

“ In the summer of 1497, during the troubles connected with Perkin Warbeck, James IV of Scotland invaded England, and besieged the castle of Norham. ‘But,’ says Bacon, ‘Foxe, bishop of Duresme, a wise man, and one that could see through the present to the future, doubting as much before, had caused his castle of Norham to be strongly fortified, and furnished with all kind of munition, and had manned it likewise with a very great number of tall soldiers more than for the proportion of the castle, reckoning rather upon a sharp assault than a long siege. ”

“ The two contiguous shires of Norham and Island, probably given by Oswald of Northumberland to Lindisfarne, are reputed the oldest possessions of the see of Durham, and detached from the body of the bishopric, presented a bold and strongly-fortified front of twelve miles, from Coldstream to Berwick, to the Scottish invaders. Early in the twelfth century arose the castle, of which the ruins are still so grand, and for the possession of which English and Scottish kings contended for centuries with varying success. ”

“ The promontory is in plan rather more than a right angle, and its two sides are protected by nature. At a radius of about two hundred feet from the angle a broad and deep ditch has been excavated from cliff to cliff, and thus, as at Norham, encloses an area in plan a quadrant, though not of extreme regularity. This forms the middle ward of the castle, and the inner ward is carved out of it in its south-western corner. The outer ward lies to the east and south, covering the middle ward on its townward side. ”

“ The metrical basis of the movement in the Canto is likewise iambic tetrameter, but the trimeter or three-beat line is freely introduced, and the poet allows himself great scope in his arrangement.
Stanza I. line 1. ‘The ruinous castle of Norham (anciently called Ubbanford) is situated on the southern bank of the Tweed, about six miles above Berwick, and where that river is still the boundary between England and Scotland. The extent of its ruins, as well as its historical importance, shows it to have been a place of magnificence, as well as strength. ”

“ There remain to be considered the castles of the northern counties, Westmoreland and Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland, for centuries exposed to invasions from beyond the Tweed, and fortified accordingly. In this tract were at least four castles of the first class,—Durham, Bamburgh, Norham, and the strongly-posted town and castle of Berwick; and of the second class Brough, Appleby and Brougham, Cockermouth, Carlisle, Prudhoe and Newcastle, Ford and Alnwick, and Warkworth. ”

“ On the evening of the fourth day they came in sight of the churches and trees of Norwich, with the newly-built Castle Blauncheflour rising in stately strength above them (for no cathedral spire dwarfed it then) , the brilliant beams of the setting sun gilding its snowy towers, and lighting the square mass of the lofty keep, which still, after eight hundred years of war and weather, stands firm and solid on its throne above the city. [2]
Emma exclaimed in delight when she first came in sight of this goodly castle, which brought home to her pleasantly the power and wealth of her noble husband. ”

“ High over the centre of the old city, over all its churches, and towers, and streets, rises the Norman Castle, frowning in feudal grandeur over the whole district. It stands on the summit of a mound or hill, steep on all sides, which appears to be chiefly the work of nature, with additions by human labour. The embattled quadrangular keep, in its restored state, retaining all the details of architectural decoration peculiar to the Norman style, presents a faithful image, though without the grey antiquity, of its original exterior, and is a noble striking object from whatsoever point it is seen. ”

“ The masonry of the walls is exceedingly rough and solid, for in the days when they were erected men built for shelter and protection, and not with the idea of providing themselves with beautiful houses to live in. The keep was made a certain height, not as a crowning feature in the landscape, but so that from its top the warder could see for many miles the glitter of a lance, or the dust raised by a troop of horsemen. One of the greatest charms of the rough, solid walls of a Norman castle is that they are so honest and straightforward, and tell their story so plainly. ”

“ This was not a strong construction of masonry as in the Norman castles of the twelfth century, but a deep and wide fosse or moat, with a high vallum strengthened with stout palisading on its inner side, of a semicircular or horseshoe form, the horns nearly touching the present ditch. The causeway that passed between the horns and the present ditch, by which access was given to the castle, was amply protected by the towers of the gate-house and the walls of the castle itself, from whence arrows and quarrels would easily reach assailants. ”

“ Sir Hoël de St. Brice came instantly to her side.
'Alas, dear lady! this is no scene for thee. Return to thy bower. There is no danger for the castle.'
'My place is here, Sir Hoël,' said Emma firmly. 'I am Castellan of this castle. The battle is not always to the strong. See, yonder flames hissing through the air are more terrible than a hundred mailed warriors! The flame of wit is given to woman as well as to man!'
'William's men are doing thee homage, noble countess,' said De Gourin, with a sneer. ”

“ A pile of buildings beyond, wholly modern in the exterior, is now inhabited as a seminary, or college. There are some circular arches within, which shew that these buildings belonged to the original structure.—Altogether the castle is a noble ruin. Though the keep is destitute of the enrichments of Norwich or Castle-Rising, it possesses an impressive character of strength, which is much increased by the extraordinary freshness of the masonry. The fosses of the castle are planted with lofty trees, which shade and intermingle with the towers and ramparts ”

“ Of the towns or manors in which these castles were situated, Domesday Book gives us the value in King Edward’s and King William’s time in sixty-two instances. In forty-five cases the value has risen; in twelve it has fallen; in five it is stationary. Evidently something has caused a great increase of prosperity in these cases, and it can hardly be anything else than the impetus given to trade through the security afforded by a Norman castle.
Our list shows that Mr Clark’s confident statement, that the moated mounds were the centres of large and important estates in Saxon times, was a dream. ”

“ And thinkest thou that he whom Harold Godwinsson could not baulk nor drive from the land ere one Norman castle or stronghold was built in it, though he had the full force of the Saxon chivalry at his back, could be so easily ousted from the saddle into which he has climbed, now the most part of the nation are dead, or ruined and torn by dissensions and rivalry? ”

“ Take all thy fainthearted mercenaries with thee to their native Bretagne! I will stay with Sir Hoël and defend this castle, which the earl gave into my charge. The late earl, thou said'st? Methinks thou art wondrous quick to make so certain of his death! Methinks all these gallant gentlemen who have galloped back to the safe walls of Blauncheflour in such hot haste, scarce waited to see if he was wounded or slain! For me he will never be the late earl. On earth or in heaven he is my husband still, and I will hold his castle, hoping, perhaps selfishly, that he will come to claim it. ”

“ Some later archæologists are of opinion that the castle built by William the Conqueror was so injured in the siege that it had to be rebuilt, and the chronicler, Henry de Knyghton, under date 1100, ascribes its erection to William Rufus. All agree that a fine Norman castle was built on the old Saxon earthworks by the Conqueror, though they differ as to whether the existing keep is the one then erected. ”

“ The great interest of this bailey is its ancient Norman gateway. The entrance was regarded by mediæval architects as the weakest part of the fortress, and we frequently find that it was the first part to receive stone defences. [495] It is not surprising that at such an important place as Lewes, which was then a port leading to Normandy, and at the castle of so powerful a noble, we should find an early case of stone architecture supplementing the wooden defences. But the two artificial mottes have no masonry that can be called early Norman. ”

“ Comparatively speaking, the windows were generally small, and the walls exceedingly thick. Those of the White Tower are 15 ft., and of Carlisle Castle 16 ft. thick. The connecting passages and staircases were constructed in the thickness of the masonry.
Norwich Castle, for its size, is a perfect type of the square Norman keep, and Castle Hedingham is another. Many magnificent stone keeps were built or rebuilt in the reign of Henry I., such as Rochester, Newark, Corfe, and Chepstow. ”

“ He knew that he could afford to wait. Both castles were closely besieged, the one by the earls of Huntingdon, Chester, and Ferrars, the other by the bishop of Durham. Another great rebel stronghold, Mount Saint Michael’s in Cornwall, had surrendered before the king’s return because at the tidings of his coming its commandant died of fright. The garrison of Tickhill now sent two knights to ascertain whether the king was really home, and if he were, to offer him the castle. ”

“ The visitor to this ancient city will by no means wish to confine his attention to the Cathedral and its precincts; but the space at our disposal will not permit more than a list of other monuments which are worthy of attention. Among these the Castle naturally comes first. Occupying the site of a very ancient—probably British—stronghold, the first building was erected in early Norman times. For many years it was the principal fortress of the Bigods, Earls of Norfolk, and under them experienced many vicissitudes of fortune at the hands of both Flemings and French. ”

“ In this year, Thomas de Brotherton, had a charter of the King in tail general, of the honours of Roger Bigod Marshal of England and Earl of Norfolk, by which he became constable of this castle during the King's pleasure, and it seems by his arms still remaining carved in stone on the walls, that it was he that fitted up the castle in the manner it now stands, for I think by his coat twice cut on the pilasters of the arch of the staircase, that he built that staircase, made that arch, and added the battlements which were on the top, and left the building much as we see it now. ”

“ These keeps, so remarkable for their simple quadrangular form and the immense solidity of their masonry, were erected in Normandy during the eleventh century, and are well known by such examples as Arques near Dieppe, Falaise, and Caen. By the Normans they were introduced into England.
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An unaltered Norman castle is very rare, if indeed such exists at all. It is, however, certain that the keep had an enceinte defence and ditch, the latter sometimes part of an earlier earthwork; and in the base court thus formed were stabling and barracks, and other subordinate accommodations. ”