Warkworth, Northumberland

Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the castle was founded is uncertain: traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland, Earl of Northumbria, in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. Warkworth Castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. The timber castle was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173. Roger's son Robert inherited and improved the castle. Robert was a favourite of King John, and hosted him at Warkworth Castle in 1213. The castle remained in the family line, with periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to control their estates. King Edward I stayed overnight in 1292 and John de Clavering, descendant of Roger fitz Richard, made the Crown his inheritor. With the outbreak of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Edward II invested in castles, including Warkworth, where he funded the strengthening of the garrison in 1319. Twice in 1327 the Scots besieged the castle without success. John de Clavering died in 1332 and his widow in 1345, at which point The 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick took control of Warkworth Castle, having been promised Clavering's property by Edward III. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, added the imposing keep overlooking the village of Warkworth in the late 14th century. The fourth earl remodelled the buildings in the bailey and began the construction of a collegiate church within the castle, but work on the latter was abandoned after his death. Although The 10th Earl of Northumberland supported Parliament during the English Civil War, the castle was damaged during the conflict. The last Percy earl died in 1670. In the mid-18th century the castle found its way into the hands of Hugh Smithson, who married the indirect Percy heiress. He adopted the surname "Percy" and founded the dynasty of the Dukes of Northumberland, through whom possession of the castle descended. In the late 19th century, the dukes refurbished Warkworth Castle and Anthony Salvin was commissioned to restore the keep. The 8th Duke of Northumberland gave custody of the castle to the Office of Works in 1922. Since 1984 English Heritage has cared for the site, which is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The Church of St Lawrence is situated in the village of Warkworth in Northumberland. It is a grade I listed building within the Diocese of Newcastle and dedicated to St Lawrence of Rome.

Birling is a small settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Warkworth, in the county of Northumberland, England. It is situated immediately to the north of the village of Warkworth on the A1068, separated from Warkworth by the River Coquet. There are facilities for static and touring caravans at Birling. To the east are Warkworth Golf Club, Birling Links and beach. In 1951 the parish had a population of 81. Birling Manor, an 18th-century house, with an extension dated 1752, is a Grade II listed building. The 19th century coach house and 18th century hen house, associated with Birling Manor, are also both listed buildings.

Warkworth Hermitage is a chapel and priest's house built onto and within a cliff-face on the north bank of the River Coquet in Northumberland, England, close to Warkworth Castle and the village of Warkworth. The hermitage consists of an outer portion built of stone and an inner portion hewn from the sandstone cliff above the river. This inner part comprises a chapel and a smaller chamber, each having an altar. There is an altar-tomb with a female effigy in the chapel. From the window between the inner chamber and the chapel, and from other details, the date of the work is placed in the latter part of the fourteenth century, the characteristics being late Decorated. The traditional story of the origin of the hermitage, attributing it to one of the Bertrams of Bothal Castle in this county, is told in Bishop Percy's 1771 ballad The Hermit of Warkworth. The ballad is fiction as the chapel was built as a chantry and occupied by a series of clergy from 1489 to 1536; since that time it has remained as it is today. The carving in the window is a nativity scene; the female is Mary with the newborn child at her breast. The item at her feet is the head of a bull, and the figure at her shoulder is an angel. Warkworth Hermitage is in the care of English Heritage, who provide its only public access, a ferry boat from the riverside path below the castle. The ferry point is about 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) upstream from the castle. The hermitage, which English Heritage manages together with the castle, is open to the public during the summer season.

SS Ina Mactavish was a small coaster that was wrecked in 1907 with the loss of two lives.

Warkworth railway station served the village of Warkworth, Northumberland, England, from 1847 to 1962 on the East Coast Main Line.

James Calvert Spence College is a coeducational community school and sixth form located in Amble in the English county of Northumberland. The school is named after Sir James Calvert Spence, a decorated war hero and paediatrician. The school was formed in 2011 from the merger of Amble Middle School, Druridge Bay Community Middle School and Coquet High School. Today the school is based over two sites - South Avenue (lower school for pupils in years 5 to 7, who are aged 9 to 12) and Acklington Road (upper school for pupils in years 9–13, who are aged 12 to 18). The school is administered by Northumberland County Council and has an intake of pupils from Acklington, Amble, Broomhill, Hadston, Red Row, Warkworth and Widdrington. James Calvert Spence College offers GCSEs and BTECs as programmes of study for pupils, while students in the sixth form have the option to study from a range of A-levels and further BTECs.

Amble Lifeboat Station is located at Radcliffe Quay, Warkworth Harbour, in the town of Amble, at the mouth of the River Coquet, in the county of Northumberland. A lifeboat was first stationed here in 1843 by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS). When a lifeboat was placed at Hauxley in 1852, which was considered a more suitable location for the Warkworth Harbour lifeboat, the station at Amble was closed. Amble lifeboat station was re-opened, and Hauxley station closed, when a motor-powered lifeboat was placed at Amble by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1939. The station currently operates a Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat, 13-16 Elizabeth and Leonard (ON 1323), on station since 2016, and a D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat Alf and Dora Whiting (D-867) since 2022.

Amble railway station was the terminus of the Amble branch line, which diverged from the East Coast Main Line at Chevington in Northumberland, Northern England. The branch opened in 1849 and closed to passengers in 1930. The station remained open for goods and coal until final closure in 1969.

High Buston is a small hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Alnmouth, in Northumberland, England, on Northumberland coast situated between Alnmouth and Warkworth. High Buston Hall is a Grade II listed Georgian manor house, built about 1784. In 1951 the parish had a population of 55.

Alnmouth Saltmarsh and Dunes is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Northumberland, England. It is the largest saltflat on the north-east coast, located on the south bank of the River Aln estuary, and notable for the varied plant community found on the interface between the saltflats and the dunes. It overlaps with and forms part of the much larger Northumberland Shore SSSI.

Amble is a town on the North Sea coast of Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the River Coquet; Coquet Island is visible from its beaches and harbour. In 2011, the parish of Amble by the Sea had a population of 6,025.