Earlier this year I woke one Sunday morning with a flash of inspiration. And before you ask, it was fleeting… it’s rare and yes, it did hurt a little!
Anyway, the idea that came to me, well it was more of a question at first, was “Have all of Northumberland’s castles been photographed. There are 70 castles in Northumberland, more than any other English county (If you add in Bastles and Peles, there are well over 100).
After some research I found that there are only one or two places where a full list exists, let alone a catalogue of all of the castles histories and most importantly (to me at least) a photograph. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever catalogued them all in one collection of images, for people to enjoy and as a historic record.
The Northumberlander Project is setting out to create the first ever photographic record of all of Northumberland’s majestic castles.
Being the landing ground for Viking invaders and the border land between Scotland and England, the county has seen a turbulent past with battles raging here for centuries. The remaining castles, some over 1400 years old, are legacies of this dramatic and bloody past.
They range from small remote ruins, to grand fortress strongholds on top of hills and in lavish country estates, which are still inhabited today.
Steeped in history and intrigue, many of these have featured in blockbuster Hollywood movies like; Harry Potter, Transformers and Indiana Jones. As well as TV shows like; The Last Kingdom, Vikings, even Black Adder and even Downton Abbey. Please feel free to share this blog or the link to the page containing the images, to raise awareness of the project.
You can watch the project as it grows and get access to an interactive Google Map of all of the castle sites, by signing up to the newsletter… Just CLICK HERE
