English Heritage

1199-1215Building Work

Roger's son Robert adds many features still visible today, including the gatehouse, Carrickfergus Tower, postern gate and east curtain wall.

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1327Siege

The castle is besieged by the Scots, but they fail to capture it.

1332-77The Percy Family

Edward III grants the castle to Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy, of the important northern family. Warkworth, rather than Alnwick, is their favourite residence until the 17th century.

1377A Great Achievement

Henry Percy is made 1st Earl of Northumberland, and builds the great tower in celebration. He probably also establishes the hermitage.

1405The Percys Rebel

Henry Percy and his son, Harry Hotspur, quarrel with Henry IV. Hotspur is killed in battle and the king besieges and takes Warkworth when Henry Percy conspires against him.

1416-70Yorkist Headquarters

Henry V restores Henry Percy, son of Hotspur, to the earldom. Warkworth becomes the Yorkist headquarters during the War of the Roses.

1470sLion Tower

The 4th Earl decorates the Lion Tower with his heraldry and begins to remodel the inner bailey.

1534-7State of Disrepair

Henry Percy, 6th Earl, makes repairs, but when he dies heirless the castle passes to the Crown and is neglected.

1557-85An Execution

Thomas Percy is restored to the title but executed in 1572 for his role in the Rising of the North. Elizabeth I returns the ruinous castle to later Percys and repairs make it habitable.

1648Civil War

Parliamentarian forces install a garrison during the Civil War.

18th and 19th CenturiesRenewed Interest and Repairs

The ruins become a tourist attraction. The Percys rebuild the castle wall and the site is clearly and excavated. Architect Anthony Salvin restores the great tower.

20th CenturyNational Importance

The castle is made a scheduled ancient monument and taken into state ownership. The Duke's Rooms in the great tower remain in use by the Percys until 1987.

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