Ford Castle in Great Britain
Rating: 8,3/10 (2492 votes)  Ford Castle is located right on the border with Scotland in Northumberland in the north of England. Ital Castle is two miles northwest of Ford. The owners of these castles have been at enmity with each other for a long time.
The first building of the castle appeared here in the XIII century. It was built by Odinel de Ford, but at the beginning of the 14th century it was destroyed by Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. Then, thanks to a successful marriage, William Heron became the owner of the land on which the castle stood. In 1338 he finally received permission to build a castle. After some time, a quadrangular structure with four towers and an inner courtyard was erected. A royal decree exempted William from duties, and also allowed a garrison of 40 people to be kept in the castle, to hold fairs and arrange a market.
The castle was located on the border, so it was constantly attacked by the Scots. In addition, the enmity with the owners of the castle of Ital was so strong that in 1428 John Manners of Ital killed a descendant of the castle's founder, William Heron. Also, the Heron family was at enmity with the Kerr family due to the fact that the son of William killed Robert Kerr. This feud extinguished only by 1660, but the beginning was laid much earlier - in 1551 Elizabeth Heron was married to Thomas Kerr, who in 1549 helped to preserve Ford Castle.
In 1603, when the border wars ended, Ford lost its strategic importance and was greatly changed. In 1661, Francis Blake became the owner of the castle, who married Elizabeth Kerr, who inherited the castle. Francis constantly worked on improving the castle, but after 1717, when he died, the castle fell into disrepair, passing from one owner to another. In 1761, John Hussey Delaval became the owner of the castle, who turned Ford from a castle into a Tudor-style mansion. John renovated the walls, laid out gardens and built new towers. In 1808, after the death of Delaval, the castle went to his granddaughter Susan, who married Waterford. When the third Marquis of Watreford died in 1859, the castle was rebuilt by his widow, Louise Ann. It is the result of its restoration that can be seen today.We also recommend reading Ancient temple in Austria, Potsdam spa Topic: Ford Castle in Great Britain. |
