On January 27, 1344, a certain Thomas of Heton sought a licence from Edward III to ‘fortify and battlement his manor of Chevelyngham with stone and lime and to make the same a castle or fortalice to be held by him and his heirs without impediment’. Remarkably, the original copy of this royal licence is kept at Chillingham Castle today.
The property subsequently passed into the possession of the Grey family, who regularised the building as a quadrangle in the early 17th century. The castle then came into the hands of the Earls of Tankerville by marriage in 1695, who developed it further.
From 1933, following the death of the 7th Earl of Tankerville and the sale of its contents, Chillingham was left empty for nearly half a century. The fabric began to deteriorate and, following a failed attempt to pass it to the National Trust, the castle seemed set to fall into ruin.
In 1981, however, Sir Humphry Wakefield and his wife, the Hon Lady Wakefield, a descendant of the Grey family, came to its rescue. They have thrown themselves into the task of restoring the building and, against the odds, successfully repaired the fabric.
With a shared interest in collecting and the Arts, they have also turned Chillingham into a castle of imagination and beauty, every room filled with eye-catching objects, as details in Country Life's article in February 2024. It is an extraordinary achievement to have taken on this huge task and driven it forward with such determination.
See www.chillingham-castle.com for more details on how to visit.
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