broad. The walls are of small stones, from a quarry at Sunderland on
the sea, three miles distant: within them is a draw well, discovered
in 1770, in clearing the cellar from sand and rubbish; its depth is
145 feet, cut through solid rock, of which seventy-five feet are of
whinstone. The remains of a chapel were discovered here, under a
prodigious mass of land, in the year 1773; its architecture was pure
Saxon, and the ancient font being found, was preserved in the keep.
The chapel has been rebuilt on the old foundations.

[Illustration: _(Bamborough Castle before the general repairs.)_]

The founder of the Castle is stated by Matthew of Westminster to have
been Ida, King of Northumberland. Sir Walter Scott sings

Thy tower, proud Bamborough, mark'd they
here,
King Ida's castle, huge and square,
From its tall rock look grimly down,
And on the swelling ocean frown.[4]

[4] Marmion.

It was destroyed by the Danes in 993; but about the time of the
Conquest was in good repair. In 1095, it was in the possession of
Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, when it was besieged, and,
after much difficulty, taken by William II. The castle lost the
greatest part of its beauty in a siege after the battle of Hexham.
Camden tells us "from that time it has suffered by time and winds,
which throw up incredible quantities of sand from the sea upon its
walls, through the windows which are open." Sir John Forster was
governor of it in Elizabeth's reign; and his grandson John obtained
a grant of it and the manor from James the First. His descendant,
Thomas, forfeited it in 1715; but his maternal uncle, Nathaniel, Lord
Crewe, bishop of Durham, purchased his estates, and bequeathed them to
charitable purposes in 1720. The sunken rocks and shifting sands of
this coast had long been a terror to the mariners, but under his
lordship's will, Dr. Sharp, then archdeacon of Durham, fitted up the
keep of the Castle, for the reception of suffering seamen, and
of property which might be rescued from the fury of the ocean.
Regulations were also adopted, both to prevent accidents on the coast,
and to alleviate misfortunes when they had occurred. A nine pounder,
placed at the bottom of the great tower, gives signals to ships in
distress, and in case of a wreck, announces the same to the Custom
House officers and their servants, who hasten to prevent the wreck
being plundered. In addition to this, during a storm, horsemen patrol