Bebbanburg

Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle from the North East
Bamburgh Castle Bamburgh Castle shown within Northumberland
OS grid reference	NU1833034971
Coordinates	55°36′29″N 1°42′32″W / 55.608°N 1.709°W / 55.608; -1.709Coordinates: 55°36′29″N 1°42′32″W / 55.608°N 1.709°W / 55.608; -1.709
List of places UK England Northumberland

Bamburgh Castle is a castle on the northeast coast of England, by the village of Bamburgh in Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed building.

The site was originally the location of a Celtic Brittonic fort known as Din Guarie and may have been the capital of the kingdom of Bernicia from its foundation in c. 420 to 547. After passing between the Britons and the Anglo-Saxons three times, the fort came under Anglo-Saxon control in 590. The fort was destroyed by Vikings in 993, and the Normans later built a new castle on the site, which forms the core of the present one. After a revolt in 1095 supported by the castle's owner, it became the property of the English monarch.

In the 17th century, financial difficulties lead to the castle deteriorating, but it was restored by various owners during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was finally bought by the Victorian era industrialist William Armstrong, who completed its restoration. The castle still belongs to the Armstrong family and is open to the public.

Built on a dolerite outcrop, the location was previously home to a fort of the indigenous Celtic Britons known as Din Guarie and may have been the capital of the kingdom of the region, Bernicia (see Gododdin, Bryneich and Hen Ogledd), from the realm's foundation in c. 420 until 547, the year of the first written reference to the castle. In that year the citadel was captured by the Anglo-Saxon ruler Ida of Bernicia (Beornice) and became Ida's seat. It was briefly retaken by the Britons from his son Hussa during the war of 590 before being relieved later the same year.