The imposing fortress of Chillingham Castle is situated in England’s Northumberland, very near the Scottish border. The foundation of its fortifications date back over two thousand years, with a stone structure built around the mouth of a cave that had been inhabited by early peoples. When the Romans invaded, they enhanced the building and enclosed the surrounding area with stone walls to keep the rare, indigenous wild cattle at the site. After the Romans left, the local Anglo-Saxon tribes took over the fortifications and cattle grounds. When the Normans arrived, around the year 1000, they placed certain nobles in charge of building fortresses to keep the Scots at bay. At Chillingham, those nobles created a proper castle, with crenellated towers, parapets and walls. Given the many border skirmishes between England and Scotland over the centuries, the castle has been rebuilt and remodeled multiple times.
Chillingham is now owned by Sir Humphry Wakefield, who bought the castle in a ruined state in 1982. An obsessive antiques collector, Wakefield has restored the castle as a showcase for his vast antiques collection. Uniquely, Sir Humphry still lives at the castle and can be seen greeting the visiting public. He also not only allows the public to take pictures of the castle’s interior, but encourages them to handle bits of his eclectic collection of furniture and objects! We even met Sir Humphry on our visit. He graciously offered us a private tour of his well stocked wine cellar while recounting a few entertaining stories about the castle and his collections!
WOW. THAT IS ALL I CAN SAY!! WOW
Yep, that was our response too! It was a nice break from all the upper-crusty stiffness we usually encounter in these big estates. 🧐
So interesting that a living person actually owns this amazing place. I’m having difficulty remodeling my 1972 “castle”. Maybe Sir Humphrey might have a few tips.
Ooo, I got a feeling that once he starts filling a room with things, Sir Humphry just doesn’t know when to stop! Keeps it interesting though! 😉
Fascinating! Do you know how it got its awesome name?
Actually, good ol’ Sir Humphry wrote a note about where the name came from! He says it’s ancient Anglo-Saxon for chief, ‘chil,’ family, ‘ing,’ and home, ‘hame,’ since the spot was where the chief of the local Anglo-Saxon tribes settled.