Castles

As a lover of history (as well as books) I love castles, particularly ruined castles – or as my grandson calls them smashed castles. Here are some photos of one near us.

This is Norham Castle, high above the south bank of the River Tweed, parts of it date back to the 12th century.

It was repeatedly attacked and besieged and was largely destroyed by James IV of Scotland in 1513 before the Battle of Flodden Field.

The photo below shows the remains of the huge Great Tower, where the Bishop of Durham  and his guests would stay when they visited the Castle.

J M W Turner painted several views of the ruined castle – they are in the Tate Collection. And I like this 1836 engraving of Moon Rise at Norham Castle by William Miller:

An ABC Wednesday post for the letter C.

13 thoughts on “Castles

  1. So old with so much history. I can’t even imagine a building that old! Where I live, something from the mid-1800s is old!

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  2. Beautiful photos, – I am fascinated with these ‘smashed’ castles and their history. The Turner picture is magnificent. Thanks for a great post.

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  3. Great photos and I love ‘smashed’ too. There are an amazing amount of castles around the border area to explore, because of all those wild Scots I suppose!

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  4. I love castles and trying to imagine what it could possibly have been like to live in one – drafty and cold, I suppose. I enjoyed touring Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. Beautiful ruins on a high point overlooking the lake and a wonderful visitors’ center.

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