Geophyical Survey: Bamburgh Castle Environs

In early 2023 the BRP was awarded funding from the Castle Studies Trust to undertake a series of non-invasive surveys to provide additional context to the outworks of Bamburgh Castle, focussing on St Oswald’s Gate and the Tower of Elmund’s Well. You can find out more about this area in our earlier blog posts (here’s a good place to start: Director’s End of Season Excavation Round-up).

We are now finalising the associated reports and sharing these ahead of releasing our interim excavation report. The next report we are sharing details a geophysical survey that we undertook with Dr Kristian Strutt of the Archaeological Prospection Services Southampton University exploring the environs of Bamburgh Castle.

Dominic Barker using the Bartington Grad 601-2 instrument on the Cricket Ground (photo: K. Strutt)

The Geophysical Survey Results

The survey utilised magnetometry, resistivity and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of areas of the Cricket Ground to the west of Bamburgh Castle. The results indicate the possible presence of a large ditch, some 45m across, immediately to the west of the outcrop, in addition to trackways, walls and other features in the survey area.

One of the principal questions we were hoping to address with the geophysics was if the castle ditch extended across the sports field at the base of the castle rock. A ditch cut through sandstone, can been traced in the area of the modern entrance that is at the site of the 12^th century gate. This feature extends across the front of the castle as far as the sandstone ridge was present above ground. The results of the GPR do seem to strongly indicate a large feature in the area where we would anticipate the castle ditch to be and the magnetometry and resistance surveys do seem to support this. It is intended to conduct further fieldwork, starting with coring, to confirm this.

Earth resistance survey being carried out by BRP volunteers (photo: K. Strutt)

In addition, to the probable ditch feature, several features seen on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey appear to be picked up on the surveys. Two trackways are evident, that lead to St Oswald’s Gate and to a cleft in the castle rock called the ‘Miller’s Nick’, which allowed people to scramble up to the West Ward in the 19^th century. The second is an S-shaped path that meandered towards the area of St Oswald’s Gate, perhaps originally skirting around the edge of the ditch feature. One further route-way or path extends across the field parallel to the road in the village to the south, called the Wynding, that appears from records to have had a medieval origin. This path runs alongside a linear plot boundary and field boundaries and it will be interesting to see if more can be made from a number of anomalies that can be seen within the enclosure areas to the south and west of the plot.

The resistivity and ground penetrating radar surveys so far cover a more limited area, due to time constraints and public access. There is an area of low resistance that lies in just the area that the ditch would lie and matches up to the path towards the Miller’s Nick. The enclosure areas picked up in the magnetometry to the south-west also seems to be present on the resistivity. Notably, there is a high resistance feature that the S-shaped pathway may curve deliberately to avoid at the south part of the plot. A further T-shaped high resistance feature is present in the north-east extending from the area of the modern pavilion that will bear further study. The GPR further reinforces the presence of some of these features and indicates some depth to the anomaly that is interpreted as the ditch, though the signal attenuates before it could indicate a true depth.

Interpretation plot of all three surveys, labels link to the report text (Airbus 11/05/23)

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Download the Full Report

If you want to take a deeper dive into the results of the geophysical survey you can download the report here: Report on the Geophysical Survey at Bamburgh, Northumberland, July 2023

It provides more information about the background to the site, detail about each survey technique and a breakdown, with useful maps and figures, about what was discovered.

In our forthcoming interim report we use this information to enhance our understanding of the castle within its landscape context and explore in more detail what some of the features identified in the survey might be.

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The geophysical survey described in this blog has been funded by the Castle Studies Trust.

This charity is entirely reliant on donations from the public. To help the Trust to continue funding this kind of research, please visit https://www.castlestudiestrust.org/Donate

To find out more about the Trust please visit www.castlestudiestrust.org

Bamburgh “Ghosts”-Tales from the Eighteenth Century- The Fear of Invasion

A further installment of Carol’s archive research, with thanks to the Woodhorn Archive:

 

Over the last few years, I have had the privilege of working as a volunteer at Woodhorn County Archive, on the Lord Crewe papers. These are a fabulous collection reflecting life in the 18C in Bamburgh, and in the Castle; I would like to share some of the stories I have found with you

 

 

During the time of Dr Sharp being the foremost Trustee at Bamburgh Castle during the mid to late 1700s-till his death in 1791-life on our North Northumberland coast was dominated by fear of invasion, or harassing by enemy privateers. A committee was established for the Safety of the Coast (the Coast Committee), and a series of signals was agreed that were passed from stations at Berwick, to Holy Island, to Bamburgh, to Dunstanburgh and down to Hauxley, using guns and flags. I have wondered how flags at that distance could be recognized without perfect eyesight, until I realized from contemporary etchings and drawings that the flagpoles on, say Lindisfarne and Bamburgh Castles were huge! Who were the enemy? There are accounts of privateer ships (pirates but authorized by their respective governments) from France and Holland…

 

 

The Following document NRO452/c/3/2/11/67 is a formal Memorandum drawn up at the house of Mr. Adams, the Trustees’ hard working Solicitor, based at Alnwick on 11 September 1779 between Holy Island and Bamburgh Castles-

 

 

“At a meeting of the Coast Committee held in Alnwick on…

 

Resolved as Major Cathcart the commanding officer of the Garrison of Berwick upon Tweed has fixed certain signals at Holy Island Castle-that the Signal Men at Bam rough Castle Station shall be bound to attend to the same and regulate themselves accordingly and that a copy of the Signals at Bambrough Castle shall be sent to the said Commanding Officer for the Signal man at holy Island Castle-

 

Resolved the following Signals shall be observed at the said several stations-

 

 

Large Red Ensign

 

1. An Enemies Fleet on the Coast, the flag to be kept flying at all stations-+ 3 guns fired

2. Preparing for A Landing from any number of vessels under that of a Fleet-+ 1 gun fired

3. Landing made good-+2 guns fired

4. Preparing for Landing from an Enemy Fleet-+4 guns fired

5. Landing made good-Minute Guns[?]

 

Large St George Jack

 

1. A Fleet in sight-signal man to keep sharp lookout and when made that of an enemy this Signal hauled down and No 1 [above] hoisted-+I gun fired

2. a Vessel taken by the enemy-+ 2 guns fired

3. Two or more taken by the Enemy-+3 guns fired

4. one or more Vessels run ashore by the enemy-+ 4 guns fired

 

Red Broad Pendant

 

1. An Enemy Vessel in Sight-+1 gun fired

 

NB 5 or more square rigged Vessels a Fleet”

 

The Memorandum goes on to instruct use of Messengers by the Signal man to acquaint his “director” of the situation, warnings to be given to [local] ships seemingly ignorant of the rules, + instructions to be followed if invasion is by land

 

It concludes-perhaps confusingly!-

 

“NB The Union Flag and small Jacks are hoisted at Balmbrough Castle on Various Occasions [such as His Majesty’s Birth Night] and therefore not to be regarded as Alarm signals”

 

 

Many letters were written to Dr Sharp when he was away from the Castle at his Parish of Hartburn, or attending Diocesan business in Durham, by George Hall his Foreman at the Castle, referring to the threat from enemy privateers. But the following written on Sept 24 1779, author unknown but clearly a resident at the Castle-possibly Rev Elliott? – clearly illustrates the panic that such a sighting could cause

 

 

NRO452/C/3/2/8/94

 

“What I now suffer that you and [George] Hall sh’d be from Home together

 

A Fleet is now passing what they are God knows they came from the southwards Bowlt [Curate at Bamburgh Church] tells me the Great Flag sh’d be hoisted and one Gun fired-

 

Which is done. I tremble to think whether to have done right or wrong- I was very unwilling to give my consent afraid of alarming the Country, but he Assured me it was the order upon the Castle Doors. The Fleet are now in the Open. We hope they are Scotch, but are far from being certain they are 15 in number+ two of them are very Large Ships. Mr Moneypenny [local Trustee tenant and maybe JP?] was sent to + it was with his Approbation that the Great Flag was hoisted the Day happens to be very windy and the Flag is Fore. I sat upon the Hill till the Gun fired, the Flag looked very Grand. Bowlt, Todd+ Richard conducted it very properly. My fear was it should have took fire from the Gun-but all was safe from that respect

 

The Fleet went North + Sir Harry Herron joined them as did another Large Ship which came from the South about 3 O’clock

 

George Hall return’d, approves of all we have done, He saw the Flag from Hefferly Tower (letter incomplete)”

 

 

What a vivid account of the panic an unidentified Fleet could cause, especially when both Dr Sharp and his Foreman absent from the Castle. It is a poignant thought that we know the very point on the old A1 road passing Heiferlaw Tower-still there today-when George Hall must have recognized the Flag hoisted at the Castle, and galloped back, heart in mouth, wondering what he would find…But seemingly, to doubtless great relief, this seems to have been a false alarm

 

 

Carol Griffiths