Its current owners market the castle as being the most haunted castle in Britain. It has been investigated on television, Most Haunted, I'm Famous and Frightened!, Scariest Places On Earth, Holiday Showdown, Alan Robson's Nightowls), The ParaPod, Ghost Hunters International, and A Blood Red Sky (2013). Some of these ghosts are referred to in a 1925 pamphlet by Leonora, Countess of Tankerville. Others, such as John Sage, are of more recent invention.
The most famous ghost of the castle is the "blue (or radiant) boy", who according to the owners used to haunt the Pink Room in the castle. Guests supposedly reported seeing blue flashes and a blue "halo" of light above their beds after a loud wail. It is claimed that the hauntings ceased after renovation work revealed a man and a young boy inside a 10-foot-thick (3.0-metre) wall. Documents dating back to the Spanish Armada were reportedly also found within the wall.
A large
enclosed park in the castle grounds is home to the Chillingham cattle, a rare
breed, consisting of about 90 head of white cattle. The castle is a Grade I
listed building.
The castle
was originally a monastery in the late 12th century. In 1298, King Edward I
stayed at the castle on his way to Scotland to battle a Scottish army led by
William Wallace. A glazed window in a frame was specially installed for the
king, a rarity in such buildings at the time.
The castle
occupied a strategically important location in medieval times: it was located
on the border between two feuding nations. It was used as a staging post for
English armies entering Scotland, but was also repeatedly attacked and besieged
by Scottish armies and raiding parties heading south. The site contained a
moat, and in some locations the fortifications were 12 feet (3.7 metres) thick.
The
building underwent a harsh series of enhancements, and in 1344 a Licence to
crenellate was issued by King Edward III to allow battlements to be built,
effectively upgrading the stronghold to a fully fortified castle, of
quadrangular form.
Anne of
Denmark and her children stayed in the castle on their way to London on 6 June
1603. In 1617, James I, whose reign unified the crowns of England and Scotland
(James I of England was also James VI of Scotland), stayed at the castle on a
journey between his two kingdoms. As relations between the two countries became
peaceful following the union of the crowns, the need for a military stronghold
in the area declined. The castle was gradually transformed; the moat was
filled, and battlements were converted into residential wings. A banquet hall
and a library were built.
In the 18th
and 19th centuries, the grounds underwent landscaping, including work carried
out by Sir Jeffry Wyattville. The once extensive park is now under a separate
ownership from the castle.
The Prince
and Princess of Wales stayed at Chillingham Castle en route to Scotland, in
1872.
Great hall,
used as a filming location for Elizabeth. The fireplaces are film props.
During the
Second World War, the castle was used as an army barracks. During this time,
much of the decorative wood is said to have been stripped out and burned by the
soldiers billeted there. After the war, the castle began to fall into
disrepair. Lead had been removed from the roof, resulting in extensive weather
damage to large parts of the building.
In 1982,
the castle was purchased by Sir Humphry Wakefield, 2nd Baronet, whose wife
Catherine is descended from the Greys of Chillingham, and Wakefield set about a
painstaking restoration of the castle.
In 1997,
the castle was used as a filming location for Elizabeth, featuring as Leith
Castle and as the hunting lodge.[6] The fibreglass fireplaces from the film
remain in the great hall, covering 18th century white marble fireplaces from
Wanstead House.
As of 2020,
sections of the castle are open to the public including for late night ghost
tours, and eight apartments within the castle and its outbuildings are
available for holiday rentals.
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