Lindisfarne Castle - Lindisfarne, Northumberland (NT)
Like St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall, Lindisfarne or Holy Island, is approached over a causeway at low tide. Although much further from the mainland than St. Michael's Mount, it shares the mystery and rhythm of that place and it was also chosen as a religious site.
From the mainland, Lindisfarne island can be seen with the castle mounted on top of its highest point, but for several centuries the island's focal point was the Priory, on flatter land to the south-west. In 635, St. Aidan founded the first community of monks here and his famous successor St. Cuthbert was honoured in 1082 by the re-building of the Priory by Benedictine monks.
It's position in the North Sea made it vulnerable to attack both from the Scots and the Norsemen and by Tudor times, the need for a more impressive fortification resulted in the fort on Beblowe Crag that from 1570-2 formed the basis of the present castle. Of course by this time, Henry VIII had dissolved the priory and his troops used the Church as a navy storehouse. Elizabeth I also had work carried out on the fort, strengthening it and providing gun-platforms for the latest developments in artillery. With the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne, the major defensive role of the castle declined, though it was still garrisoned from Berwick and protected Lindisfarne harbour.
In the eighteenth century, the castle was occupied overnight by Jacobite rebels, but was quickly re-captured by soldiers from Berwick, where they were then imprisoned. Incredibly, the rebels managed to burrow their way out and hid for nine days near Bamburgh Castle just down the coast from Lindisfarne, before making good their escape. In later years it was used as a coastguard look-out point and became something of a tourist attraction. Charles Rennie Mackintosh made a sketch of the old fort in 1901.
The present appearance of Lindisfarne Castle came about through the founder of Country Life magazine, Edward Hudson. In 1901, he came across the decaying and empty castle and saw its potential as a unique and Romantic holiday home. He called on his favourite architect, Edwin Lutyens, to re-fashion a retreat for himself and his friends. Lutyens entered wholeheartedly into the scheme and the result is a wonderfully dramatic yet liveable-in castle on a tiny scale. His other 'castle' at Castle Drogo in Devon shares some of Lindisfarne's features, such as the bare stonework, the use of unadorned arches to divide spaces, varied floor levels and his own brand of medieval architecture informed by the Arts and Craft movement as well as Mackintosh's distinctive style.
The entrance up to the castle is dramatic, a steep climb around the rock base after the long walk out from the village. Lutyens' original slope was unprotected by rail or fence (Health and Safety regulations of course have altered this) and this emphasised the exposed nature of the site. When the future George V and Queen Mary came to visit in 1908, they were alarmed both by the entrance slope and the cobbled surface. Once safely inside, the Entrance Hall is sectioned off by fat pillars of stone, like the nave of a church, the dark reddish-brown contrasting with the whitewashed plasterwork. The stone floor completes the stark space, not very comfortable in Winter I'm sure, but comfort is not the priority at Lindisfarne.
The Kitchen is almost as bare, the huge stone fireplace emphasising the small scale. Here, as at Castle Drogo, the available space is played with in interesting ways. Everywhere throughout Lindisfarne Castle, Lutyens has used stone, brick, slate and wood to create simple forms and textures to give the impression of a rustic, spartan life-style. A Castle it is, but a homely one. Human scale in room size, but with out-size architectural elements. The Scullery is a case in point - the tiny window over the stone sink is surrounded by the parafinalia to operate the portcullis - while washing the dishes you could also repel all comers.
Descending to the Dining Room, you are now inside the old Tudor fort. The vaults here and in the next-door Ship Room were functional, supporting the gun battery above. The wide chimney-piece contains an old bread-oven and Lutyens has emphasised the age of the room with neo-gothic traceried windows, framed by tiny curtains on poles which swing out to lie flat along the wall. One end wall is painted a rich Prussian blue, providing a more festive feel to the room and contrasting beautifully with the herring-bone patterned red-brick floor. Next door in the Ship Room, a deep green wall performs a calmer but similar role. The furniture throughout is in keeping, lots of dark wood tables and cabinets with a few upholstered chairs and sofas, now faded into perfect gentle tones.
The largest bedroom, the East Bedroom, is bright and airy, again, furnished well but simply with more curtains on pull-out poles. The Long Gallery was a new space created by Lutyens, echoing the galleries of Elizabethan and Jacobean grand houses. Here of course the scale is much smaller, but again, the use of exposed stone arches and oak beams provides a grand but simultaneously rustic feel. An Upper Gallery has a raised platform at one end, where Hudson's regular guest Mme Suggia would perform on the Stradivarius cello given to her by Hudson. An oak door leads out onto the Upper Battery, with wonderful views on a clear day across the island, the ruins of the Priory and over to Bamburgh Castle.
Outside the Castle there are the remains of circular lime kilns, a part of the nineteenth century industry on the island. To the north of the Castle is the walled garden designed by Gertrude Jekyll, the leading garden designer of her day and a frequent collaborator with Lutyens.
Like many romantic ideas, Lindisfarne Castle has its practical drawbacks. The cold is not helped by all the stone surfaces. Lutyens only included one bathroom, for nine bedrooms. There was no electricity or gas and lighting was by candle-light. Despite his genuine love of the place, Hudson's life and work was in far-away London and he sold the Castle in 1921. In 1944, the then owner, Sir Edward de Stein, gave Lindisfarne Castle to the National Trust and thus gave the public the opportunity to explore the romantic and complete little castle we see today. It's scale and popularity don't mix very well however, as visits are intensified by the tide times. Come prepared for a walk out to the castle and if you are lucky enough to avoid the coach parties and school children you might be as entranced with Lindisfarne as we are.