Aydon Castle

Aydon Castle, previously sometimes called Aydon Hall, is a fortified manor house at Aydon near to the town of Corbridge, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

Documentary evidence shows that a timber hall first existed on this site.

The land was purchased by Hugh de Raymes, a major Suffolk 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, and it is known that Robert fought in Scotland between 1297 and 1298.

Robert is believed to have fought at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298 against the Scottish forces of William Wallace. 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 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 in 1314. Aydon Castle was captured by the Scots in 1315 after the governor of the castle surrendered to the besieging forces.

Text adapted from “Aydon Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Aydon Castle ranks #2,543 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #177 of the 329 mapped in England. Founded 1296, it is older than 66% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,111 times in the last 60 days, more than 51% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Newcastle upon Tyne, 25 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗