Ford Castle is 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 ...
situated at a shallow crossing point on the
River Till,
Ford,
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.
History
The castle dates from about 1278. The owner Sir William Heron was granted a licence to
crenellate the castle in 1338. It was captured by the Scots in 1385 and dismantled by them. However, by the beginning of the 16th century, it had been rebuilt and refortified. It was taken by
James IV of Scotland
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...
on the eve of the
Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...
in 1513. The castle passed from the Heron family to the Carr family by marriage in 1549, by the marriage of Elizabeth Heron to Thomas Carr of
Etal. In that year, during the war with Scotland known as the
Rough Wooing
The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...
, a French soldier
André de Montalembert besieged the castle.
The Heron family disputed Carr's ownership and seized the castle for time in March 1557. In August 1557, the castle was attacked by
Lord James and
Robert Stewart (sons of
James V
James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...
) and
Lord Home who brought artillery and burnt farmhouses in the "ten towns of
Glendale".
[Edmund Lodge, ''Illustrations of British History'', 1 (London, 1791), p. 253.]
The castle and lands passed by marriage passed to
Sir Francis Blake of
Cogges, Oxfordshire in the 1660s. Blake built a substantial mansion in
Tudor style within the castle in 1694. On Blake's death in 1717 the Ford estate passed to the husband of his late daughter Mary and then in 1723 to her son
Francis Blake Delaval (1692–1752). In 1761
John Delaval, 1st Baron Delaval (1728–1808) rebuilt the Hall with the assistance of architect George Raffield in a
Gothic style.
On his death, the property passed to his granddaughter Susannah who had married the
Marquess of Waterford. In 1862 Louisa, Dowager Marchioness of Waterford (d 1891), widow of the
3rd Marquess, restored and substantially remodelled the Hall.
The castle was acquired in 1907 by the coal-mining magnate
James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey, and it stayed with his family, in 1956 it was leased to
Northumberland County Council
Northumberland County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having also ...
as a Young Persons' Residential Centre.
In 2022, Ford Castle was acquired by
PGL, which now operates the site as an outdoor activity centre offering residential trips for schools, groups, and young people.
As of 2025 during the out-of-season period (November to March 31), the site offers a range of activities and events, with some shops and cafes operating on special seasonal hours.
References
Ford Castle 1*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.
{{Castles in North East England
Castles in Northumberland
Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland
Grade I listed castles
1278 establishments in England
Castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...