Aydon Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Aydon Castle |
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| Aydon, Northumberland, England | |
Aydon Castle
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 Aydon Castle
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| Coordinates | 54°59′29″N 1°59′58″W / 54.9914°N 1.9994°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference NZ001662 |
| Type | Fortified manor house |
| Site information | |
| Owner | English Heritage |
| Open to the public |
Yes |
| Condition | Restored |
| Site history | |
| Events | Scottish Wars of Independence |
Aydon Castle, sometimes called Aydon Hall, is a strong country house near Corbridge, Northumberland, England. It's a special old building called a Scheduled Ancient Monument. English Heritage says it's a Grade I listed building, which means it's very important.
Contents
A Castle's Story: Aydon Through Time
How Aydon Castle Began
A long time ago, there was a wooden house on this spot. It was a simple hall.
Then, a rich merchant named Hugh de Raymes bought the land. This was between 1293 and 1295. He wanted to become more important in society. Hugh died in 1295, so his son, Robert de Raymes, took over.
Robert moved his family to Aydon Hall. He probably saw chances to get ahead during the Scottish Wars of Independence. We know Robert fought in Scotland from 1297 to 1298. He might have even fought at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. This was against the Scottish leader William Wallace.
When Robert came back from fighting, he started building a stone house. Before this, Aydon only had a wooden building.
Building and Fortifying Aydon
The first stone manor house started being built in 1296. At first, it didn't have any defenses. It was just a fancy home. Soon after, Robert de Raymes added a two-story hall.
Things changed in 1305. Aydon Hall got permission to add crenellations. These are the battlements you see on castles. They look like teeth along the top of the walls. Maybe they were just for show, to make the house look more important.
But soon, these defenses became very useful. From 1311 to 1312, Scottish raiders called border reivers attacked English lands. Aydon itself was attacked at least twice. The castle managed to fight off these attacks. The raiders damaged the land around Aydon, but they couldn't capture the house.
A Time of Trouble and Rebuilding
The situation got very bad for the English after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. In 1315, Aydon Castle was captured by the Scots. The castle's leader gave up to the attacking forces.
After it was captured, Aydon Castle was robbed, burned, and badly damaged. In 1317, English raiders damaged it even more. They were looking for anything the Scots had left behind.
Robert de Raymes, the owner, had been captured at Bannockburn. He had to pay a huge ransom to be set free. The damage to his home and the ransom made him very poor. Robert died in 1324. By then, his estate was worth almost nothing.
Robert's son, also named Robert de Raymes, inherited the castle. Robert II rebuilt and made the castle's defenses stronger. When Robert II died in 1349, his son Nicholas de Raymes took over. Nicholas tried to make the family rich again, but he couldn't. He had to sell the estate by the 1400s.
Aydon Castle was owned by many different people over the years. Not much changed until the 1600s. From then on, the castle was used as a farmhouse. In the early 1800s, a man named George Bates lived there.
Aydon Castle Today
Aydon Hall stopped being a farmhouse in 1966. That's when it opened to the public as a historic site. Today, English Heritage owns and looks after it. It's still a Grade I listed building.
Aydon Castle is a popular place for visitors. It's a great example of a fortified manor house.
See also
