 West face of the Keep of Warkworth Castle Warkworth Castle was originally constructed as a wooden fortress, some time after the Norman Conquest. It was later ceded to the Percy family, who held it, and resided there on and off (dependant on the state of their often stormy relationship with the royalty of the time) until the 16th C. During this period the castle was rebuilt with sandstone curtain walls and greatly re-inforced. The imposing keep, overlooking the village of Warkworth was added during the 15th C. It was refurbished, with much refaced stonework, by the Dukes of Northumberland in the late 19th C.
The castle formed the backdrop for several scenes in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1.
"this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone,
Where Hotspur's father, old Northumberland,
Lies crafty-sick"
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