Aydon Castle, previously sometimes called Aydon Hall, is a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

Aydon Aydon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Corbridge, in Northumberland, England. It is about northeast of Corbridge on the B6321 road. The village is about from Newcastle upon Tyne along the main A69 road. The A68 road is ...

near to the town of

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was k ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

, and is designated by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

The courtyard of Aydon Castle - geograph

History

Early history

Documentary evidence shows that a timber

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

first existed on this site. The land was purchased by Hugh de Raymes, a major

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

merchant, between 1293 and 1295. He bought the property from the estate of an impoverished neighbour in the hope of increasing his social stature and influence. The sale was delayed by legal complications and the estate was not released until 1296, after Hugh de Raymes's death in 1295: his son Robert took over ownership of the property and it was Robert who moved his household and made Aydon Hall his primary residence. The move was believed to be due to opportunities for Robert in the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

, and it is known that Robert fought in Scotland between 1297 and 1298. Robert is believed to have fought at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (; ), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by Edward I of England, King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scottish people, Scots, led by William Wal ...

in 1298 against the Scottish forces of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

. Upon Robert's return from fighting in Scotland, he began the construction of the first stone structure. Aydon had previously featured a wooden structure with a two-storey chamber block. The original manor house began construction in 1296. At the time of its initial construction, the manor did not feature any defensive works or fortifications. Shortly after the stone construction began, Robert de Raymes added a two-storey hall range. Initially there was little need for fortifications to exist in Aydon. However, this changed in 1305 when Aydon Hall received permission to add crenellations. It is possible that the crenellations were added only to increase the status of the hall, but it would soon prove necessary to fortify the hall beginning in 1311 and 1312, as Scottish

border reivers Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...

began to launch raids into English territory. Aydon itself was attacked during this time, successfully repelling at least two known assaults by Scottish forces. These Scottish raiders managed to damage the surrounding area, but were unable to capture Aydon Hall itself. The military and political situation became dire for the English in Northumberland following the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...

in 1314. Aydon Castle was captured by the Scots in 1315 after the governor of the castle surrendered to the besieging forces. Aydon Castle was pillaged, burnt, and severely damaged by the Scots following the surrender of the garrison. The castle was further damaged in 1317 by English raiders seeking to loot whatever the Scots had left. The owner of Aydon Castle, Robert de Raymes, had been captured at Bannockburn and had been financially ruined by the destruction of his home and the 500-mark ransom he had paid for his release. Robert died in 1324 with little to his name. By this time, the estate was considered worthless.

Late history

Robert's son, also named Robert de Raymes, inherited the castle after his father's death. Robert II rebuilt and enhanced the fortifications that had been destroyed when the estate was captured. When Robert II de Raymes died in 1349, the property came into the ownership of Nicholas de Raymes. Nicholas attempted to rebuild the previous fortunes that the family had enjoyed, but was ultimately forced to sell the estate by the 15th century. Aydon changed hands a number of times with little change being made until the 17th century. From then onward, the castle was operated as a farmhouse. In the early 19th century, it was the residence of a George Bates.

Civil parish

Aydon Castle was a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, in 1951 the parish had a population of 10. Aydon Castle was formerly a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Corbridge parish, from 1866 Aydon Castle was a civil parish in its own right until it was abolished on 1 April 1955 and merged with Corbridge.

Today

Aydon Hall's use as a farmhouse ended in 1966 when the property was opened to the public as a historic site. The site has been owned and operated by

in recent years, and is listed as a Grade I

. The location is popular for tourists and locals, and is considered to be an excellent example of a fortified manor house.

References

External links

Aydon Castle
- official site at English Heritage {{Authority control Castles in Northumberland Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland English Heritage sites in Northumberland Historic house museums in Northumberland Scheduled monuments in Northumberland Country houses in Northumberland Hall houses Former civil parishes in Northumberland Corbridge