THIS region seems to have more than its fair share of castles, some in ruins and others occupied. They range from the tiny Danby castle in Eskdale which is a ruin in a farmyard to the mighty fortresses of Richmond and Scarborough. There are those which are occupied such as Durham Castle, Gilling Castle, Castle Howard and Mulgrave Castle and some that have disappeared such as Kilvington Castle near Thirsk and two at Kirkbymoorside.

I recall one lady castledweller saying “We live a very simple life at the castle” and it wasn’t many years ago that one of our Yorkshire castles was advertised for sale as “a semi-detached castle.” It was an incident at Scarborough Castle that led to the saying “a Scarborough warning”

which is a word and a blow, but the blow comes first.

It was this that reminded me of some events within the life of Scarborough Castle, once claimed to be impregnable.

It stands majestically on a lofty former site of a Roman signalling station 300 feet above sea level and overlooks the town, sea and shore below.

In Danish times the town was known as Skardaborg, from which Scarborough is derived.

It was in 1136 that William le Gros began to construct this huge defensive castle with three sides overlooking the sea, and the fourth overseeing the town. He added a massive wall and so strong and secure was his castle that it rapidly gained a reputation for being impregnable.

That was seen as a challenge by many who wanted to prove its defences could be breached. And some succeeded.

One of those who became worried about the threat posed by the castle was Henry II (1133-1189). He became King of England in 1154 at the age of 21 when one of his missions was to curb the power of the barons and for that reason he ordered all castles to be demolished with the exception of Scarborough.

He regarded it as a strong defensive base that he could use for his own purposes and so he acquired it. In that way, it became a Royal castle and he set about strengthening it. It continued in Crown ownership and was developed as a major fortress. In 1482, Richard III stayed there with his Queen, Anne.

Nonetheless, its reputation as a fortress persuaded others to attempt sieges and during the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, Sir Robert Aske and his followers made such an attempt, but failed.

Then in 1557, Thomas, the second son of Lord Stafford and some of his conspirators against Queen Mary I, successfully invaded Scarborough Castle. They were successful because they did not use force but relied on subterfuge and they managed to hold on to the castle for three days.

They gained entry on market day by dressing as country folk and peasants and Stafford passed through the gates without any trouble.

He pretended to be a sightseer and 30 of his conspirators managed to gain entry whereupon they neutralised the guards and gained control of the gate. Then more of Stafford’s conspirators were admitted to take control of this allegedly impregnable castle.

Their success was shortlived.

After all, the castle belonged to the king and three days later the Earl of Westmorland regained control on behalf of the sovereign.

Stafford and his followers were swiftly executed in London. It was this rapid outcome that gave rise to the term “a Scarborough warning.”

Twice during the Civil War, the castle was raided by Parliamentarians. The first was in March 1642, when the raid was led by Captain Brown Bushell.

The castle was being held by Sir Hugh Cholmley on behalf of the king but the speed and element of surprise exercised by Bushell ensured his success without a drop of blood being spilt.

But Captain Bushell changed sides and admitted Sir Hugh, and so the castle changed sides twice in a day.

The second occasion was in February 1643 when the Parliamentarians again raided the town and managed to capture it, along with the church, 32 cannon and 120 ships in the harbour.

But they did not capture the castle. They launched a series of attacks against Sir Hugh Cholmley who continued to hold the castle on behalf of the king and their siege lasted more than a year. The defenders within the castle found themselves without food. Some developed scurvy and others were too weak to stand up and so surrendered.

But the Royalists regained it only to lose it again to the Parliamentarians in 1648.

In 1665, the castle governor, Sir Jordan Crossland, held prisoner the founder of the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. He was George Fox who was held for a year suffering from the effects of smoky fires and a room that let in rain and wind. He was later freed.

Today, the castle entertains huge crowds – but they are peaceful tourists.

Following my notes about bridge chapels, and the one at Catterick Bridge in particular (D&S Times Sept 6), I have received some fascinating information from a reader who lives in Catterick.

She has supplied further information about that chapel, along with some atmospheric illustrations, for which I am most grateful.

The bridge was built in 1422-25 but later widened and re-surfaced. However, it had a chapel at its southerly tip, and a topographical artist called Captain Francis Grose wrote some notes about the chapel.

He recorded: “Upon the south end of this bridge was formerly a chapel or oratory where, as tradition tells us, Mass was said every day at eleven o’clock for the benefit of travellers. By whom or at what time it was founded is not said or known.” And at the time of writing those notes, Captain Grose placed on record that the chapel, which had fallen into disuse after the Reformation, was being used as a coalhouse by the adjacent inn. TODAY is the feast day of St Luke, author of the Third Gospel and a Greek-speaking native of Syria who was also a physician. He is the patron saint of doctors, butchers, glass-industry workers, goldsmiths, lacemakers, lawyers, painters and sculptors. Luke was also said to be a capable artist, one of his works being the Madonna and Child, which has been lost.

Today also marks the beginning of St Luke’s Little Summer, a period of unusually fine, dry and warm weather that may last a few days. It usually appears on or near St Luke’s Day. In the past, fairs used to be held on this day to mark the feast of St Luke and many of them sold or made use of horns from oxen. The ox is the symbol of St Luke but in some illustrations this is depicted with wings.

I’ve heard that pigs might fly but never oxen and it is said that Luke’s adoption of this symbol endeared him to butchers who nominated him as their patron saint.