Lindisfarne Castle Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Lindisfarne Castle
Holy Island, Northumberland, England
Lindisfarne Castle, a 16th-century fortification made into a family home by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1901.
Lindisfarne Castle
Coordinates	55°40′08″N 1°47′06″W / 55.669°N 1.785°W / 55.669; -1.785
Grid reference	NU135435
Type	Castle

Lindisfarne Castle is an old castle from the 1500s. You can find it on Holy Island in Northumberland, England. A famous architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, changed it a lot in 1901. You can only reach Holy Island from the mainland when the tide is low, by driving over a special road called a causeway.

History of Lindisfarne Castle
Lutyens's Renovation of Lindisfarne Castle
Filming Location
Images for kids
See also

History of Lindisfarne Castle

The castle is in a place that was once very busy with battles. This area was on the border between England and Scotland. Vikings also often attacked this part of the coast.

From Priory to Fort

The Lindisfarne Priory was a religious building. It was closed down around 1537. This happened during a time when King Henry VIII closed many monasteries. After the priory closed, Henry VIII's soldiers used its old buildings to store naval supplies.

In 1542, King Henry VIII ordered the site to be made stronger. He wanted to protect it from possible attacks from Scotland. By 1547, the fort had cannons. These included a large gun called a demi-culverin.

Building the Castle

In 1549, a small fort was built on a high rock. This rock was called Beblowe. It was the highest point on the island. The fort was about 1 kilometer east of the old priory. It looked over the harbor.

In 1565, an engineer named Sir Richard Lee checked the fort. He found it was falling apart. So, Queen Elizabeth I ordered work to be done. They made the fort stronger. They also added platforms for new types of cannons. This work happened in 1570 and 1571. It cost a lot of money, about £1191. During this building work, stones from the old priory were used.

Later Years

When King James I became king, he ruled both Scotland and England. This meant there was less need for the castle to defend against Scottish attacks. But the castle still had soldiers from Berwick. It helped protect the small harbor at Lindisfarne.

In the 1700s, some rebels called Jacobites took over the castle for a short time. But soldiers from Berwick quickly took it back. The rebels were caught. They dug their way out and hid near Bamburgh Castle before escaping.

Later, the castle was used by the coastguard. It also became a place that tourists liked to visit. A famous artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, even drew a picture of the old fort in 1901.

Lutyens's Renovation of Lindisfarne Castle

In 1901, a rich publisher named Edward Hudson bought the castle. He owned Country Life magazine. Hudson hired Sir Edwin Lutyens to make the castle new again. Lutyens was a very famous architect. He redesigned the castle in the Arts and Crafts style. This style focused on simple designs and natural materials. People say Hudson and Lutyens found the castle while exploring Northumberland. They climbed over a wall to look inside!

The Walled Garden

The castle also has a walled garden. This garden was once where the soldiers grew vegetables. Lutyens's friend, Gertrude Jekyll, designed the garden. She was a famous garden designer. She worked on it between 1906 and 1912. From 2002 to 2006, the garden was brought back to how Jekyll first designed it.

Ownership and Public Access

Edward Hudson sold the castle in 1922 for £22,000. It was sold again a short time later. Since 1944, the castle, its garden, and nearby lime kilns have been looked after by the National Trust. The National Trust is a charity that protects historic places. The castle is now open for visitors to explore.

Unique Features

Lutyens used old, upside-down fishing boats as sheds. These boats were called herring busses. In 2005, two of these boat sheds were burned down. They were replaced in 2006. The third boat has also been fixed up by the National Trust. A video called Diary of an Island shows how the new boat sheds were made. A fishing boat was cut in half and lifted onto the island by a crane.

A Spanish architect named Enric Miralles was inspired by Lutyens's upside-down boats. He used this idea when he designed the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh.

The castle was closed for big repairs from November 2016 to April 2018.

Inside the Castle

The way into the castle is quite exciting. You have to climb a steep path around the rocky base. Lutyens wanted the path to feel wild. So, he didn't put up rails or fences. When King George V and Queen Mary visited in 1908, they were a bit worried about the steep, bumpy path!

Once you are inside, the entrance hall has large stone pillars. It looks a bit like a church. The dark reddish-brown stone looks nice with the white walls. The floor is made of bare stone.

The kitchen is also quite simple. It has a very large stone fireplace. Lutyens used different materials like stone, brick, and wood. He made the castle feel rustic and simple. Even though it's a castle, it feels like a cozy home. In the scullery (a small kitchen room), there's a tiny window above a stone sink. Next to it, you can see the old machine that used to lift the castle's heavy gate, called a portcullis.

If you go down to the dining room, you are in the oldest part of the castle. This part was once the Tudor fort. The arched ceilings here are very strong. They support the gun battery (where cannons were placed) above. The wide fireplace has an old oven for baking bread. Lutyens added windows that look like old church windows. They have curtains that can swing flat against the wall. One wall is painted a deep blue. The floor is made of red bricks in a zig-zag pattern.

Next to the dining room is the ship room. It has a green wall. The furniture is made of dark wood. The few soft chairs and sofas have faded to soft colors over time.

The biggest bedroom is bright and airy. It also has curtains on pull-out poles. Lutyens created a new space called the long gallery. It was meant to look like the grand halls in houses from the Elizabethan and Jacobean times. It's smaller, but the stone arches and oak beams still make it feel grand and rustic.

Further on, an upper gallery has a raised area. From here, an oak door leads to the upper battery. This spot offers amazing views along the coastline. The music room in the castle was used by a famous cello player named Guilhermina Suggia. A cello is still left in the room today to remember her visits.