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Norham Castle was a mighty stronghold located on a rocky bluff on the
south bank of the River Tweed. Its location, just half the river's width
away from the border between England and Scotland, earned it the title of
"the most dangerous place in England".
Norham Castle was first built in 1121 by the Bishop of Durham. The castle's
defences were soon tested when the Scots took Norham Castle in
1136 before quickly returning it to the Bishop.
The Scots again took the castle in 1138, this time destroying much of it.
Between 1157 and 1170 it was rebuilt on a much grander scale. King John
further developed the castle between 1208 and 1212, which helped enable it to
withstand a 40 day siege by Alexander II of Scotland in 1215.
The years that followed saw Norham bypassed by invading Scots
armies in 1311 and 1312 as too strong to attack. In 1318 Robert the Bruce
besieged Norham for nearly a year, succeeding only in a temporary occupation
of the outer ward. In 1319 the Scots besieged the castle, again unsuccessfully,
for 7 months; and they tried and failed yet again in 1322.
More building work followed in the early 1400s, including completion of
the Great Tower. In 1464 Norham surrendered, this time not to the Scots but
to the Earl of Warwick during the Wars of the Roses. The castle was further
strengthened and there was another unsuccessful attack by the Scots in 1497.
Large scale rebuilding followed, designed both to repair the 1513 damage and
bring the castle's defences into the artillery and handgun age. A lot of what
still stands dates back to this time. In 1559 Norham Castle was seized from
the Bishop of Durham by Queen Elizabeth I when he refused to swear an Oath of
Supremacy to her. Within 10 years the castle was considered unfit to garrison
and the buildings had started to decay.
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