Norham Castle - England's FORGOTTEN Medieval Besieged Fortress

[@wulfcogle9988]

I live fairly local, just over the border. This is a fantastic castle to visit, and has a long history. If you do visit in the future, try to get into the village of Norham ( pronounced, norr ham ), i suggest a visit to Norham chapel. This church has some beautiful architecture, and lovely stained glass windows. A little known fact about Norham castle, is the the famous cannon, Mons Meg ( rebuilt after having to be cut up to transport after it breached Norham castles walls from about a mile and a half away). Although the first half of the fifteenth century proved to be quieter than the previous one, the castle's defences were kept in good repair. The next major activity that the castle saw was during the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487). In 1462 Norham Castle was held by the Yorkists on behalf of Edward IV. The following year a Lancastrian army besieged the castle for eighteen days until it was relieved by Yorkist forces. In 1464 the forces holding Norham castle changed sides to support the Lancastrians but were then forced to surrender to a force of Yorkists. Later in the century, Bishop Richard Foxe of Durham (1494-1501) had the castle's defences strengthened once more. In 1497 the castle was besieged for two weeks by an army led by James IV of Scotland. The siege included the use of artillery to try to breach the walls but the garrison was finally relieved by an English army. Following this latest siege the castle was repaired again. One of the guns used in the siege was a 22-inch (56 cm) calibre cannon called Mons Meg, which is now located at Edinburgh Castle.[1] Mons Meg link. www.edinburghcastle.scot/see-and-do/highlights/mons-meg Great video, and a castle well worth a visit. There are a chain of castles on the English side of the border, that allowed signals to be sent from Berwick miles inland via Norham , to alert of Scottish invasions. You might want to look into this. I have visited most, and they are worth looking at, even if most are a lot more derelict than Norham.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for your comment! Great comment to see. I'll have to go and take a look next time I'm in Edinburgh. (Which should be this year after lockdown!)

[@wulfcogle9988]

@@TheUntoldPast I will be happy to help you find out more. If you have FB look me up. I have done a lot of research and study of the borders history, send me a message and i will be more than happy to share with you.

[@lindatimmons3675]

Id love to live where there are castles that you could visit. But i live in TEXAS and doubt that i will ever be able to afrord a trip to England Ireland or Scotland.

[@wulfcogle9988]

@@lindatimmons3675 There are loads i would love to see in the US, and likely won't for the same reasons you state here. That being said, we are luckier these days, we can kinda visit online. Take care.

[@hashtag415]

@@lindatimmons3675 I'm in Houston and the closest thing we have to castles are actually Spanish missions. None close to here though. This channel is one of the best "walk through" channels I've seen. Interesting commentary and great clear footage!

[@nickfoister]

I happened to pass this castle last week so popped in on a whim to take a look. What you don't see from the road, or any photos or videos, is how absolutely massive that inner keep is. It's really breathtaking. The signs on site are really informative and you can really imagine life there hundreds of years ago. Thank you for this video, which tells the story brilliantly.

[@tonyfulton9966]

I visited Norham castle in the 1980’s. I think we were the only people there at the time. I remember it as being a magical place in a beautiful setting and to me, the most romantic castle I’d visited. I must revisit soon, especially after watching your video which really brought it to life to me. Thank you.

[@TheUntoldPast]

It honestly is a beautiful castle. Thanks for your comment mate :)

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

A very interesting castle. It reminds me of both Richmond and Barnard castles, which are further south and share a number of architectural and layout features. The keep is similar that of Richmond Castle, which is about 100 feet tall, complete, and can be climbed to the top, though is a little smaller in area. Barnard Castle is directly next to the Tees, so served to command that river, and shares many layout similarities. Both are very much worth visiting.

[@perrydowd9285]

Norham Castle has come up in my reading from time to time and I've seen a few photographs over the years but your video really fleshes it out. Thankyou for this great piece of work.👍👍

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for your kind words :)

[@theearlofmarch]

Top lad. Love anything to do with English-Scottish history and their shared border; truly a point of contention since the dawn of time it seems. Would love to see some more like this mate! All the best. x

[@TheUntoldPast]

No worries! Cheers mate!

[@jared1870]

Thank you, Norham Castle is now on my bucket list.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for the comment! :)

[@celardore]

Love your stuff on castles

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks mate! More to come! (Roman Fort coming up soon too!)

[@beccaboo3040]

Beautiful castle ruins would of loved to see its heyday. Great vid bud.

[@elizabethspedding1975]

It will be wonderful to visit these places again.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Definitely! I filmed this prior to lockdown, and looking back I think it was a great day visiting Norham Castle. Such great weather, such a great castle.

[@owenhughesdrummer304]

Awesome work my dude! Going to head down and see it soon! only an hour and a half away from me!

[@tooyoungtobeold8756]

Excellent review - thank you.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for your kind words!

[@vijaysura2874]

Thanks, a must visit when I do the Kielder Forest thing.

[@davewatson309]

Kielder forest, a midge infested man made hell. A vast dark lifeless pine plantation

[@anthonysmith778]

Great documentary. Never heard of that one. Learned something new today

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for the comment! Plenty more forgotten castles coming soon!

[@bloke7127]

I visited this castle, truly beautiful and amazing place.

[@TheUntoldPast]

When I visited, I couldn't believe how just forgotten it was. There was us and two other people there. Was incredible to be able to visit and delve into its' story.

[@bloke7127]

@@TheUntoldPast Same situation with us, it was so quiet, which was so peculiar because castles are usually bustling with people. And yeah, I appreciate you making a video on this castle, as it's one of my favs, so thanks.

[@hashtag415]

Whilst waiting for her husband to come home from work a Scottish woman heard a knock on the door. Standing there was a man she'd never met who told her that he worked with her husband and that he'd be running late. The man also said he had pressing business to attend with him when he arrived and asked to wait with her. No sooner had she let the man in he began making passes and advances towards her. "I can't do that!" she exclaimed, " I'm a happily married woman!" Reaching into his pocket he produced a great wad of cash saying "Could ya do it fer this lassie?" She quickly agreed and after doing the deed he left. As she was counting the money her husband walked in the door. "Sorry I'm home late honey, had a bit of overtime to catch up on". Quickly stuffing the money into her skirt she said "That's okay dear, your friend came by and told me you'd be a wee bit late so I wouldn't worry". To which her husband cheerfully replied "Oh good, did he bring my pay?"

[@Saucyakld]

Hahahahaha!

[@uba51]

Man, this was great. More videos like this please.

[@paradox7358]

It's crazy to think of the amount of man hours that went into the construction of castles like this. There must have been a whole village needed to house and supply the numbers of different workmen and craftsmen.

[@TheUntoldPast]

I agree! It's centuries in the making!

[@ColKlinkerhofen]

Fantastic video, I live in Spittal so that's two videos you've made local to me. Might I suggest Chillingham Castle it has a fantastic history filled with torture and executions. If you do come back I'll try to get the local historians number for you. He holds the keys for the rooms in the walls around Berwick. We have countless castles and historic buildings, should you need any help with our area I'd love to help.

[@TheUntoldPast]

That would be incredible thank you! When I was in Northumberland I stayed in Berwick, love love to explain the walls of the town a bit more! I'll have to message you mate once I find out what my plans are after lockdown. I also saw Chillingham Castle on the map, but i'll have to go back. Thanks for your great comment mate :)

[@ColKlinkerhofen]

@@TheUntoldPast I'm actually one of the local bus drivers so if you do I'll happily ask around to see where's best to see. Chillingham used to have an oubliette and dungeon. Jim is a really nice bloke he does guided tours of the walls. I also have a friend with a bnb in Spittal so he might be able to sort something out especially. Thanks for the videos, putting us back on the map.

[@carlbowman3366]

Great vid thanks!

[@TheUntoldPast]

No worries, thanks for the comment Carl.

[@peppermintshore]

One of my local castles as i live 7 miles away from norham. You should check the fort near the haven holiday park. Its the remains of the original and much larger berwick walls, the othet part if the ruins next to the railway station. Fun fact they used stone from the ruin to build the station. Would love to see them try that today. The train route would be very different today.

[@TheUntoldPast]

I noticed that as I went past that in the car! Can you actually go in and visit the castle or is it incorporated inside the haven site? Thanks for your comment mate

[@peppermintshore]

@@TheUntoldPast its off the site. You access it via the golf course path. The main ruin by the river under the railway bridge is accessed by going dowm Tommy the millers or via the new Road. Also the bell tower still stands and if you know what ypu are looking for you can still find evidnece of the mote that raan the length if the old walls.

[@tynestreet4011]

Excellent video 🙏

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thank you :)

[@mr.s2005]

sounds like that the motto for this castle was "Thank you, may I have another".

[@Saucyakld]

I went on some cheap bus tour and they called there. It was amazing! No big buses with tourists pouring out. Was very quiet and lovely!

[@lindatimmons3675]

Love these vids on castles. I would so love to be able to visit one in person but i dont see that happening so i'll visit them here. ;)

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks! :) Lets hope as the year moves forward we can progress a bit more and get back out there exploring amazing places!

[@garbeal2397]

Was there yesterday and its a fantastic castle and it's free to get in.

[@carstentiensuu1003]

When this Covid-19 shite is over I will travel to the UK and visit these old ruins. Great channel :-)

[@stephenchappell7512]

You're welcome Romanian?

[@carstentiensuu1003]

@@stephenchappell7512 no, Danish :-)

[@stephenchappell7512]

@@carstentiensuu1003 I only said Romanian because many Romanian surnames end with a u but upon further investigation I found it's actually of Finnish origin which I'm sure you already know.

[@carstentiensuu1003]

@@stephenchappell7512 Yes I know :-)

[@hjones451]

Free to enter too - went there Sept 23 and took several photos.

[@alexanderjansseune1763]

They should make a VR replica from this castle!

[@Louise-b9k]

I love this castle, been there several times & free to enter.

[@michailokeefeMooMoo]

Can’t imagine how men was killed there and if their bodies were buried in the grounds

[@dustmasterflex1541]

Lovely.

[@angietyndall7337]

Wow, thanks.

[@TheUntoldPast]

Thanks for your comment!

[@Curiosminor]

Yo bro my whole family live in norham would be great to give you a tour of the borders and all the castles as my grandad knows a lot about the battle of flodden and if you come in the summer you can see us riding horses around our common land

[@Curiosminor]

I’ve also got something to show you in the castle which we would love to explore but we need to set aside a day to get up there

[@TheUntoldPast]

Hi mate, thanks for the comment! It was a brilliant place, we stumbled across this by accident last year when we were staying in Berwick! Would love to take you up on the offer sometime.

[@Curiosminor]

@@TheUntoldPast the borders is a lovely place that is just passed through when people go to Edinburgh or going to hadrians wall and Newcastle… I belive it’s a gem that is not yet discovered by travellers but once it is all the traditions will come back and restore everything good about the borders

[@beccaboo3040]

Just wondering if you would do a bit of research on Belvoir castle. It's a beautiful castle my wife calls it the fairy castle, dont know much of its history all I know is it was once made of wood and has changed its appearance 3, times I think it's now iron stone which looks stunning and was grated to Anne of cleves when she was divorced from king Henry 8th. Also my grandad said it was a look out for enemy planes in the world war 2 that's all I know but would like know more ???😄

[@TheUntoldPast]

Hi mate, thanks for your comment. I'm not too far from Belvoir where I am. Problem with Belvoir Castle though is the fact you can't film and gather footage, as it's inhabited and they're very strict on photography inside the castle too. Thanks for your comment mate, i'll have to maybe see what I can do.

[@sharynhughes1061]

Amazing !!! 😯

[@priscillapartida620]

I wish I was royal I would love to live in a castle 😊 I hate our modern time now 👎🏻

[@TheUntoldPast]

Same here, what a beautiful building to live in!

[@deejay830]

Very good, though it is properly pronounced "Norram"