Naworth Castle, England, UK

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The History of Naworth

Naworth was crenellated by Ranulph Dacre in 1335, during the reign of Edward III, although records suggest that there was a castle on the present site as early as 1270. Subsequently it was extended by the Dacre family who grew increasingly powerful, mainly by the skilful ploy of each generation marrying wealthy, landed heiresses.

In 1513 Thomas, Lord Dacre played an important role at the battle of Flodden, where the English, under Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (later 2nd Duke of Norfolk) inflicted a catastrophic defeat upon the Scottish nation. Thomas Dacre was awarded lands around Lanercost, and with that new wealth was able to extend Naworth. He built the whole of the south and east wings including the 100ft Great Hall, and what is now known as Lord William’s Tower. Thomas Dacre was also Warden of The West March for Henry VIII, and provided loyal service to the crown until his death in 1525. Unfortunately for the Dacre family, in 1560 the then Lord Dacre died, leaving a widow, three daughters and a young son called George. Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Queen Elizabeth's cousin, married the widowed Lady Dacre, and arranged to marry his three sons to her three daughters. Young George was killed in a fall from a vaulting horse and the vast Dacre estates which covered great tracts of the north of England- including 70,000 acres of the Barony of Gilsland, lands in Cumberland including Greystoke and Dacre, 20,000 acres around Morpeth and 30,000 acres in Yorkshire - now part of Castle Howard estate, all came under the control of the Howard family.

Following the death of his wife, he then rather foolishly became embroiled in a plot to marry Mary Queen of Scots. Thus Thomas Howard, like his father before him, went to the scaffold and was executed in 1572.

Left: Thomas Howard - 4th Duke of Norfolk

Right: Lord William Howard

The eldest Dacre daughter, Elizabeth, married the Duke’s third son, Lord William Howard. It took Lord William until 1602 to raise and pay a ransom of £10,000, in order to secure his wife’s estate, (his lands and titles having been seized by an angry Queen Elizabeth I). He then set about restoring the castle. A great antiquarian and man of letters, he served both James I and Charles I, and was responsible for the maintenance of law and order. In the castle grounds stands the stump of the renowned oak tree where Lord William Howard used to hang Scottish Reivers and wrong doers. It was said he hung 62 Armstrongs in two years!

Lord William was also very religious. He spent nine months in the Tower of London because he refused to recant his Catholic faith. His half brother Philip Howard, Earl of Surrey, spent 13 years in the Tower of London until he died. He was known as the Blessed Philip Howard, and was later canonised in 1975 when he became Saint Philip Howard.

Lord William’s great grandson, Charles Howard was less scrupulous than his illustrious ancestor; three times he was put in the Tower of London. He managed to avoid committing himself to either side in the Civil War until he was caught in Preston in 1647. He then offered his allegiance to Cromwell, and became firstly Cromwell’s ADC, and then one of his Colonels in the North. Cromwell created Charles Howard Viscount Morpeth in 1657.

He had the distinction of being one of only two viscounts created by Cromwell. Being a very shrewd man, Charles Howard soon realised that Cromwell’s son and successor, Richard Cromwell was a man of lesser calibre than his father. Charles was a great friend of General Monck, and the pair became allies. Together with George Downing, an American spy, they were instrumental in restoring Charles II to the monarchy in 1660. As a result, Charles Howard was ennobled as Earl, and George Downing gave his name to the most famous street in London. Charles Howard was then sent to Russia on a trade mission and presented the Tsar with the Garter. He was governor of Jamaica and even owned St Lucia personally, amassing an enormous fortune which enabled his grandson, the 3rd Earl of Carlisle (left) to commission Vanbrugh to build Castle Howard.