The History of Chillingham Castle The castle intriques me to no end. What lies behind what door, who walked down that corridor and climbed those stairs hundreds of years ago. In an attempt to label my pictures correctly, this is the map I have in my head of the castle. The towers face north, south, east and west. The walls between I shall name the north east or north west wall, accordingly. The original south tower houses what is now Edward's bedroom. The entrance used to be in what they now consider to be the back, on the south east wall with gianormous laws and fountains, preferably to be viewed and appreciated from afar as one would approach the grand castle. The back of the castle used to be what is now treated as the front, a circle driveway, the curved door leaing into the courtyard and the perfect view of the steps up to the great hall, torches blaxing on either side. As you walk thought that front curved door, the entrance, ticket office and small but fascinating museum is beyond the door to the left, with offices behind the right door. One flight up is I Can't remember, the top floor houses the Gray Room, a stunning apartment for guests. To the right, you find a gift shop and access to the gardens behind the castle perimeter walls. Above that are two floors of private quarters for the Wakefield family, the entrance is the east tower. Bless your heart. Can you tell me if this is right, too? North Tower West wall South wall: East Wall
For the genealogy buffs, the Greys go back to Anchetil de Greye of Rotherfield in Oxfordshire who appears in William of Normandy's Domesday book of 1086. It is believed his family originated from France, but the name is of Norse Viking ancestry. Anchetil's sons include the Bishop of Norwich, the Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England. Henry de Grey (1155 to 1219) was the son of Richard, who is probably a grandson of Achetil. He lived in the manor called Grays in Essex, the Manor of Codnor, Derbyshire, and the manor of Gromston in Nottinghamshire. He and Isaolda Bardolf had many sons, including Richard, Sir John, William, Robert, Henry, Hugh and Walter. Hugh (born at Chillingham in 1203) was the father of John, and the grandfather of Thomas of Heton circa 1266, whose son Sir Thomas (1328 to 1369) was taken prisoner by the Scots at Bannockburn. Sir Thomas Grey II, born abt 1299 at Heton, died before March of 1243, married Agnes de Beyle, his father was Thomas from Heton 1266 to 1304 at Forfarshire, Scotland. Sir Thomas Grey III, 1328 to bef 22 Oct 1369, became a chronicler while in captivity in Scotland, released in 1357, and appointed Warden of the East March (eastern border between England and Scotland) in 1367, and wrote the Scalacronica, the first known written history by nobility, about the England to 1362, and written in French, otherwise known as Anglo Norman. Thomas and his father participated in many of the battles between England and Scotland that were well described. Thomas and Margaret de Pressene only had one son, Sir Thomas of Heton. Sir Thomas of Heton, 1359 to 26 Nov 1400, married Joan de Mowbray and had several sons: William Grey, Dean of York and Bishop of London, Sir Henry, John Grey and Sir Thomas of Heton. Thomas, 30 Nov 1384 to 03 Aug 1415, born at Alnwick, was the ringleader of the Southampton plot of 1415, the aim being to murder English King Henry V. All the conspirators were arrested and beheaded at Northgate, Southampton. Thomas and Alice Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville and Margaret de Stafford, had several children, including Sir Thomas, Sir Ralph, Joan, Elizabeth, William, Margaret and John. Sir Thomas (30 Nov 1384 to 02 Aug 1415) was born at Alnwick Castle. John Grey (1300 to 1359) and Richard Grey (d 1418) were of the original Knights of the Garter, as were Ralph de Neville, and Ralph de Stafford. Ford Grey, the 1st Earl of Tankerville, (20 July 1655 - 24 June 1701) was fairly infamous. The son of Ralph Grey 2nd Baron of Werke (the son of William, 1st Baron of Werke d 1674) and Catherine Ford, born at Harting. He seduced his wife's (Mary) sister, Lady Henrietta Berkeley, was arrested for participating in the Rye House plot, imprisoned in the Tower of London but managed to eacape. Then he followed up with leading the calvary in the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685, but was defeated, some say because of his cowardice or treachery. Agin imprisoned for high treason but freed based on his testimony against his rebellious buddies, and was restored in 1686. When /william III and Mary took the throne, they rewarded Ford with the position of the first Lord of the Treasury. His father, Ralph, had particiapted in the ousting of Charles I, whose son Charles II took Ralph's head in exchange for his family retaining their properties. His son, Ford, would continue the fight against Charles II and James II until William III took the throne. to Back to the castle! T June he Grey family had moved up to northern England to guard the borders. In 1246, the Greys stormed what was) then Chillingham castle, just the south tower existed. Once the family's following generation held the castle firmly, they applied to build up and crenellate (build battlements) the fortress due to constant raids from Scotland. Permission was granted by King Edward III via the "Kynge's Clerk", William Wakefield who held that position in 1334. The Wakefield Tower, part of the Tower of London, was named after William, and is reportedly haunted by King Henry VI, who was murdered there during the Civil War in 1471, possibly by RIchard III who was well known for his royal murders as a means to the throne. In 1298, Henry III, son of John Lackland, stayed at the castle as he returned home from the borders. William Wallace was raiding the area in 1297, burning the women and children in the abbey. Edward Longshanks turns up the following year, and his bedroom is still ready for his return in the south tower. A glazed window in a frame is rare, but can be found in his bedroom. In 1344, Sir Thomas Grey was given a licence from Edward III to add the battlements and fortify Chillingham into the fortress of today. Sir Thomas was also one of the first Knights of the Garter. The castle consisted of four towers connected by the walled courtyard. The entrance was on the south, the great hall on the east. The exterior wall surrounded the gardens, and the stables were built. In 1409 Sir Ralph Grey was given the Earldom of Tankerville, thusly the town of Tankerville south of Chillingham was born. 1464 brings the execution of Ralph Grey. His father, Thomas, and mother, Elizabeth FitzHugh, lie in the church behind Chillingham. Much research to do here. In 1513, the Grey family fled to Chillingham after they lost their holdings at Heton, Wark, Norham and West Horton to the Scots. The Greys were part of the 20,000 English who defeated 30,000 Scots at the Battle of Flodden Field shortly after. The Greys either commanded or owned Bamburgh, Alnwick, Dunstanburgh and Norham castles. As they provided too easy an access, the outer stairs on the corners were destroyed and converted to latrines. The Greys would continue to participate in the battles between royal forces for the next several hundred years. King James I would visit the castle on the way to his coronation. The three rooms prepared from him still exist today, still cloaked in riches and mystery. Finally, the service wing was added in 1873, and the castle remains in that state today.
Chillingham is a parish, township and village in north Northumberland. It lies 13 kilometres (8 miles) south west of Belford, which in turn lies approximately 24 kilometres (15 miles) south of Berwick upon Tweed. In the Middle Ages Chillingham was the property of the Hentercombe family. It then passed into the possession of the Grey family of Wark. In 1623 Sir William Grey was created Lord Grey of Wark. He died in 1674 and was succeeded by his son, Ford, Lord Grey, who was created the Earl of Tankerville. The Earl died in 1701 without a male heir. However, the title passed to Charles Bennet, second Baron Ossulston, who married Mary, daughter of the late Earl in 1695. The Chillingham estate remained in the hands of the Tankerville family until 1980 when it was sold after the death of the ninth Earl. The Tankerville family home was Chillingham Castle, a castellated mansion set in 300 acres of parkland. The earliest part of the Castle dates back to thirteenth century. The north and south fronts of the Castle were re-designed by Inigo Jones, the seventeenth century architect. In 1828 Sir Jeffry Wyatville designed formal Italianate gardens to the Castle. Chillingham is well-known as the home to a herd of rare wild white cattle. It is believed that there has been a herd of these cattle at Chillingham for at least 700 years. Following the break-up of the estate after the death of the ninth Earl of Tankerville in 1980 the Sir James Knott Charitable Trust purchased the park and woodlands in which the cattle roam thus preserving the future of the herd. Chillingham is an ancient parish. It is known that there has been a church at Chillingham since at least the twelfth century. The present building retains a Norman doorway. In one of the aisles of the church there is a magnificent tomb of Sir Ralph Grey and his wife who were buried in the church in the fifteenth century. It is one of the best examples of monuments of this period on the north-east of England. The church is dedicated to St. Peter. A school was erected at Chillingham in 1835. The cost of building the school was £300. The school closed in 1932 at which time there were only two pupils.
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