A cross is caught by the last rays of the sun, framed by the remarkable norman arch of Lindisfarne Priory
Continuing the visit to the northeast of England this page features Bamburgh Castle and the Farne Islands. The Castle sits on the coast in a position commanding the sea to the north and south, and looking out, to the east, on the Farne Islands seen in the last Picture Posting. This page has photographs of the castle, but first some pictures from Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, captured in the castle's northern view as it looks out across 'Skate Road'. Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands tease...
...etymologists for their origins are obscure and it is probable that the names were not originally related. The abbey, for it was originally Lindisfarne Abbey, was established in 634 and served as the site for a monastery until the Reformation. It was host to an extraordinary sequence of famous names from St Cuthbert, its bishop in 865/7 onwards. During the period after Cuthbert's death the Lindisfarne Gospels were produced on the island marking a high point in early medieval art.
The castle on Lindisfarne is its outstanding landmark
Caught again as light fades on a February evening
The castle dates from the 1540s when Henry VIII, having dissolved the monastery on the island as part of his thoroughgoing divorce from Rome, established a base against possible Scottish invasion. It became a tourist attraction and in 1901 under a new owner had a make over in the Arts & Crafts style, fashionable at the time, by the outstanding architect
of his age, Edwin Lutyens
The castle glimpsed between two sheds - boats gaining a novel second life
Just a handful of the over 650,000 tourists that visit the island each year
And another framing shot bringing Priory and Castle together, across 'The Ouse'
The priory turning to silhouette
Two of the norman arches to be seen in the priory, showing their affinity to work in Durham Cathedral
Maybe the same masons worked on both buildings, as the carving on Lindisfarne closely followed Durham in date
Another shot across 'The Ouse', this one in the other direction, towards the priory
The view from Lindisfarne southwards towards Bamburgh Castle
Bamburgh Castle stands on the coast of northern...
...Northumberland with unobstructed views seawards
Its advantageous position has been recognised since Celtic times
And a fort stood there until destroyed by Viking raids in the late 900s. A new building was...
...created on the site by the Normans and this forms the heart of the present building
It soon became Crown property and remained so till it was sold off in the eighteenth century
A number of owners slowly restored it to its present sound state
The last of these was the Newcastle magnate William Armstrong, he of the famous armaments and engineering industry based in that city
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting
page is to take you up the coast
of Northumberland to
Berwick-on-Tweed
The next page
of the Mosaic Section is headed 'Patterns'.
Or go to the contents Go to the contents of the Mosaic Section. of the Mosaic Section.
The last page had photographs from the Farne Islands and the harbour at Seahouses
Photographs from a commanding seat of power and religion in Cairo
...guide to this site