CASTLE ON THE HILL

Crouched on a craggy hill top, visible from the mainland yet cut off at low tide, Lindisfarne Castle’s dramatic location on Holy Island lies at the heart of its history. ‘The site allows for useful strategic viewing of the eastern and northern horizon, and the fact you can see it but it’s inaccessible at times also has a spiritual connotation,’ says Nick Lewis, Lindisfarne’s Collections and House Officer.

Lindisfarne provided protection against invasion from the Scots, later becoming a Cromwellian stronghold, a haven formagazine, Edward Hudson, who was travelling north for a holiday in 1901. ‘I think he would have seen it from the train, as many people still do, and the drama of its location was the key to his interest,’ says Nick. Hudson had a strong idea of what he wanted from a country retreat and, having decided to take on the dilapidated ruin, he commissioned his friend Edwin Lutyens to transform the building to suit his needs.