Prudhoe Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Set on a natural spur overlooking the middle Tyne valley, Prudhoe Castle is one of the most complete border fortresses in Northumberland. Its layout preserves the defensive logic of the Middle Ages: a very thick stone curtain wall, deep ditches on the south and west sides, the most vulnerable, and an entrance protected first by a gatehouse and then by a narrow barbican. The site bears witness to several centuries of adaptation. The Umfraville barons replaced an earth-and-timber fortification here with masonry walls, then with a square keep; the Percys, earls and later dukes of Northumberland, inherited it at the end of the 14th century and have kept it to this day. In the early 19th century a Georgian manor house was built inside the curtain wall itself, offering a striking contrast with the medieval ruins. In State guardianship since 1966 and managed by English Heritage, the castle can be visited during the opening periods announced by the operator. The gatehouse, whose upper floor housed a chapel, the barbican and the remains of the keep make it possible to read clearly the evolution of a castle on the Anglo-Scottish border.