Haggerston Castle
Encyclopedia
Haggerston Castle was a castle located in the county of Northumberland
, England
at Haggerston
about 5 miles (8 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed
. Only the tower and the rotunda (both Grade II listed buildings) remain. Today, it is best known as a caravan park owned by Haven & British Holidays
.
The inhabitants of the castle, the de Hagardestons, are believed to have been part of the invading force of William the Conqueror, who invaded as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed
. The land at Haggerston was, at that time, boggy and wet, the remaining lake serving as a reminder of this. There are few records of the early part of the history of Haggerston Castle, as later fires destroyed much of the castle, along with its documents. It is known that John de Hagardeston inhabited the castle in the late 12th and early 13th century, his death having been documented circa
1210. He married into the Manners family, of Cheswick
. The name of de Hagardeston appears to have changed to the anglicized spelling of Haggerston with Thomas Haggerston, born circa 1458.
In 1642, Sir Thomas Haggerston was created the first baronet
of Haggerston, in the Baronetage of England. The Haggerstons married into many great families, such as the Cheswick
family, gaining large amounts of land, but Haggerston eventually became a minor estate, connected to the Maxwell and Constable families, and passed to the Maxwell Lord Herries of Terregles
, through Winifred Maxwell, who married William Haggerston-Constable, second son of the third Baronet. Their grandson, William Constable-Maxwell, became the 10th Lord Herries of Terregles when the title was restored in 1858.
banker Thomas Naylor. On his death in 1891, it was inherited by his nephew Christopher John Naylor (1849–1926), who gave up his family home Leighton Hall, Powys
to his brother, and moved to Haggerston, changing his name to C.J. Leyland.
By 1893 he had rebuilt the main house, and like his father John Naylor started to develop his own gardens at Haggerston, overseeing the landscaping of the 23000 acre estate. His brother John sent him six Cupressocyparis leylandii, a hybrid tree which had cross pollinated naturally at Leighton Hall in 1888 when the female flowers or cones of Nootka Cypress were fertilised by pollen from Monterey Cypress. Naylor also laid out a 1.4 acre (0.5665604 ha) Italian
garden.
Unfortunately, the castle is supposedly according to local legend subject to a witches curse, which has resulted in the castle being damaged by fire on three occasions. The original reason for the curse and the resultant first fire are unknown, but the subsequent fires took place in 1618 and 1911. The fire resulted in only the tower remaining, and due to World War I
Leyland never lived in the house again.
and the estate auction
ed off in 2,000 lots, in order to try to recoup some of the family fortune.
Only the tower and the rotunda (both Grade II listed buildings) remain of the house C.J. Naylor built on the castle site in 1893. Haven Holidays now owns these buildings and operates a holiday park on surrounding 256 acres (103.6 ha) of land, with the main complex for the caravan park stretches between these buildings to resemble a large tent
. The tower is used as a storeroom, and the rotunda is the Owner's Exclusive lounge opened officially by Berwick MP Alan Beith and Roy Bowen the charismatic manager in1989. The cellars have been converted into a bar and storerooms.
Seven semi-detached cottages, the "Roadside Cottages", still remain, and are privately owned, having been built for the employees of the castle in the late 18th century, along with a terrace of four cottages, the "Flower Cottages". There is also a modern-built house. The ruins of the chapel and the ice house still remain, along with the dovecote on the opposite side the A1.
specialising in conifers were looking for a breed that was fast growing, and could be deployed in hard to grow windy and salty areas such as Cornwall
. Eventually they found the six original trees developed by Leyland, and began propagating the species, calling them Haggerston Grey in respect to their origins. In 1953, a freak tornado
blew down one of the original trees at Haggerston (the other original five trees still survive), on which the research division of the Forestry Commission
started developing additional hybrids. Commercial nurseries spotted the now termed Leylandii’s potential, and for many years it was the biggest-selling item in every garden centre in Great Britain, making up to 10% of their total sales.
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at Haggerston
Haggerston, Northumberland
Haggerston is a hamlet located in the county of Northumberland, England about south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and adjacent to the A1 road. Historically, it was a baronetcy in the civil parish of Ancroft, then located in County Durham...
about 5 miles (8 km) south of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
. Only the tower and the rotunda (both Grade II listed buildings) remain. Today, it is best known as a caravan park owned by Haven & British Holidays
Haven & British Holidays
Haven Leisure Limited is a company that operates 35 holiday parks in the United Kingdom. The current company was created as Haven & British Holidays in 2004, following the amalgamation of the British Holidays chain with the Haven Holidays chain, which British Holidays' parent company, Bourne...
.
History
Haggerston Castle was first mentioned in sources in 1311, when Edward II visited the castle, and again in 1345, when it was described as a 'strong tower' and was granted a licence to crenellate by Edward III in the same year. This licence is recorded in the Calendar of patent rolls (1343-45), p. 479.The inhabitants of the castle, the de Hagardestons, are believed to have been part of the invading force of William the Conqueror, who invaded as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
. The land at Haggerston was, at that time, boggy and wet, the remaining lake serving as a reminder of this. There are few records of the early part of the history of Haggerston Castle, as later fires destroyed much of the castle, along with its documents. It is known that John de Hagardeston inhabited the castle in the late 12th and early 13th century, his death having been documented circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1210. He married into the Manners family, of Cheswick
Cheswick
Cheswick is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated approximately south-east of Berwick-upon-Tweed, between the A1 and the North Sea coast.- Governance :Cheswick is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed....
. The name of de Hagardeston appears to have changed to the anglicized spelling of Haggerston with Thomas Haggerston, born circa 1458.
In 1642, Sir Thomas Haggerston was created the first baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
of Haggerston, in the Baronetage of England. The Haggerstons married into many great families, such as the Cheswick
Cheswick
Cheswick is a village in Northumberland, England. It is situated approximately south-east of Berwick-upon-Tweed, between the A1 and the North Sea coast.- Governance :Cheswick is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed....
family, gaining large amounts of land, but Haggerston eventually became a minor estate, connected to the Maxwell and Constable families, and passed to the Maxwell Lord Herries of Terregles
Lord Herries of Terregles
Lord Herries of Terregles is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1490 for Herbert Herries. On the death of his grandson, the third Lord, the male line failed. He was succeeded by his daughter Agnes. She married Sir John Maxwell, second son of Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell...
, through Winifred Maxwell, who married William Haggerston-Constable, second son of the third Baronet. Their grandson, William Constable-Maxwell, became the 10th Lord Herries of Terregles when the title was restored in 1858.
C.J. Naylor
By the 1880s, the castle and estates were part of the Leyland Entailed Estates, built up by LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
banker Thomas Naylor. On his death in 1891, it was inherited by his nephew Christopher John Naylor (1849–1926), who gave up his family home Leighton Hall, Powys
Leighton Hall, Powys
Leighton Hall is an estate and farming complex, located outside Welshpool in Powys, Wales. A grade 1 listed building and estate farming complex, located on the opposite side of the valley to Powis Castle...
to his brother, and moved to Haggerston, changing his name to C.J. Leyland.
By 1893 he had rebuilt the main house, and like his father John Naylor started to develop his own gardens at Haggerston, overseeing the landscaping of the 23000 acre estate. His brother John sent him six Cupressocyparis leylandii, a hybrid tree which had cross pollinated naturally at Leighton Hall in 1888 when the female flowers or cones of Nootka Cypress were fertilised by pollen from Monterey Cypress. Naylor also laid out a 1.4 acre (0.5665604 ha) Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
garden.
Unfortunately, the castle is supposedly according to local legend subject to a witches curse, which has resulted in the castle being damaged by fire on three occasions. The original reason for the curse and the resultant first fire are unknown, but the subsequent fires took place in 1618 and 1911. The fire resulted in only the tower remaining, and due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Leyland never lived in the house again.
Today
After C.J. Naylor's death in 1926, in 1933, the ruins of the house were demolishedDemolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
and the estate auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
ed off in 2,000 lots, in order to try to recoup some of the family fortune.
Only the tower and the rotunda (both Grade II listed buildings) remain of the house C.J. Naylor built on the castle site in 1893. Haven Holidays now owns these buildings and operates a holiday park on surrounding 256 acres (103.6 ha) of land, with the main complex for the caravan park stretches between these buildings to resemble a large tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
. The tower is used as a storeroom, and the rotunda is the Owner's Exclusive lounge opened officially by Berwick MP Alan Beith and Roy Bowen the charismatic manager in1989. The cellars have been converted into a bar and storerooms.
Seven semi-detached cottages, the "Roadside Cottages", still remain, and are privately owned, having been built for the employees of the castle in the late 18th century, along with a terrace of four cottages, the "Flower Cottages". There is also a modern-built house. The ruins of the chapel and the ice house still remain, along with the dovecote on the opposite side the A1.
Economy
In 1925, a firm of commercial nurserymenNursery (horticulture)
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...
specialising in conifers were looking for a breed that was fast growing, and could be deployed in hard to grow windy and salty areas such as Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Eventually they found the six original trees developed by Leyland, and began propagating the species, calling them Haggerston Grey in respect to their origins. In 1953, a freak tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
blew down one of the original trees at Haggerston (the other original five trees still survive), on which the research division of the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
started developing additional hybrids. Commercial nurseries spotted the now termed Leylandii’s potential, and for many years it was the biggest-selling item in every garden centre in Great Britain, making up to 10% of their total sales.