Dunstanburgh Castle, Craster, Northumberland
Dunstanburgh Castle was built for Thomas, second Earl of Lancaster in 1313-25. It seems to have been built as a refuge not a home. The Earl was opposed to king Edward II. However Earl Thomas was executed in 1322 after the battle of Boroughbridge and before the castle was finished. It then passed in to royal ownership. More changes, such as enlarging the gatehouse, were made to it in the 1380s. This was done under the orders of John of Gaunt. Before these changes were completed it is known that the castle withstood a Scottish attack in 1384. It was later held for the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses. It eventually fell to the Earl of Warwick in 1464 after a siege. From then on it was left to fall in to ruins. This property is owned by the National Trust but maintained and managed by English Heritage (2010).
