NORTHUMBERLAND. BAMBOROUGH CASTLE. BAMBOROUGH CASTLE, situated about four miles south of Belford, on an almost perpendicular rock upon the sea shore, is recorded as having been a fortress in very early times. It was in the possession of Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, when it was besieged, and after much difficulty taken, by William II. in 1095. The Castle continued in the hands of the crown till the reign of James I., who granted it to John Forster, Esq. Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, of Stene, in Northamptonshire, and Bishop of Durham, having married Dorothy, daughter of Sir William Forster of Bamborough, purchased this estate, which in 1720 his lordship devised to trustees for various munificent and charitable purposes. sunken rocks and shifting sands of this coast had been a terror to the mariner for ages; but under his lordship's will, Dr. Sharpe, then Archdeacon of Durham, fitted up the Keep of the Castle, a fabric of vast strength and magnitude, for the reception of suffering seamen, and of property which might be rescued from the fury of the deep. Regulations were also adopted both to prevent The accidents on the coast, and to alleviate misfortunes when they had occurred. A nine-pounder, placed at the bottom of the great tower, gives signals to ships in distress, and in case of a wreck, announces the same to the Custom-House officers and their servants, who hasten to prevent the wreck being plundered. In addition to which, during a storm, horsemen patrol the coast, and rewards are paid for the earliest intelligence of vessels in distress. A flag is always hoisted when any ship is seen in distress on the Fern Islands, or Staples; or a rocket thrown up at night, which gives notice to the Holy Island fishermen, who can put off to the spot when no boat from the main land can get over the breakers. Life-boats have been added to the establishment: "And Pity, at the dark and stormy hour Of midnight, when the moon is hid on high, A boundless view of the ocean presents itself to the east from Bamborough Castle, spotted with small islands, having the Coquet Island on the south, and the Holy Island on the north. |