Castles are an incredible sight to see whenever you get the chance. The way it looks gives off a distinct vibe that feels like you are teleported back to the medieval period. You can even visit one and take a tour inside the castle to get completely immersed in it. Out of the thousands of castles worldwide, there is one particular castle you should check out, and that is the Chillingham Castle.
You can find it in the Chillingham village in the northern area of Northumberland, England. It was the Bennett and Grey families’ location from the 15th century until the 1980s, when Sir Edward Humphry Tyrrell Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, took over the home. He was married to a family member of the first Grey family.
How the Castle Came to Be
The castle started as a 12th-century monastery, and in 1928, King Edward I stayed behind at the castle on his travel to Scotland to fight with a Scottish army guided by William Wallace. King Edward I ordered that a glazed window in a frame be built for him, rare for castles back then.
It was also utilized as a staging area for English armies entering Scotland but was continuously attacked and surrounded by Scottish forces and raiding parties headed southbound. The castle went through many changes until King Edward III ordered that battlements be built, which efficiently upgraded the stronghold to a fully fortified quadrangular castle.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, there was extensive landscape work done and other work done by Sir Jeffry Wyattville. The former large park was under different ownership from the castle. The Prince and Princess of Wales lived in the castle on the way to Scotland in 1872.
The exterior grounds of the Chillingham Castle.
Interesting Facts About the Castle
The 1997 movie Elizabeth used the castle to film the movie, featured as Leith Castle and as the hunting lodge. The movie’s fiberglass fireplaces are left behind in the great hall, awning 18th-century white marble fireplaces from Wanstead House. The castle’s eight apartments and the outbuildings can be rented out by people who wish to stay within the castle’s grounds.
And in 2020, it was opened to the public where people can join nightly ghost tours. Even the owners of the castle market it as one of the most haunted castles in Britain. Several television shows such as Most Haunted, Scariest Places on Earth, Alan Robson’s Nightowls, The Parapod, to name a few, featured the castle because of its ghost hauntings.
There is a famed ghost called the “radiant boy” who haunts the castle’s Pink room. Guests who stayed and slept on the bed noticed a blue halo and flashes above their beds after a scream. But after renovations were made, it was revealed that a young boy was inside a 10-foot thick wall.
If you want a good fright or visit a castle, you should consider choosing Chillingham Castle.
