Warkworth Castle, in the village of Warkworth, Northumberland, has an unusual feature in the form of a Hermitage, separated from the castle by the River Coquet. The Hermitage consists of a priest’s house and chapel hewn into the cliff face. In 1771, one Bishop Percy composed a ballad called The Hermit of Warkworth, which helped to raise the profile of the Hermitage after a period of obscurity. In the same year the renowned writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, a friend of Percy, wrote “Parodies of The Hermit of Warkworth”.
The hermit in question is a knight who accidentally killed his brother and his betrothed in a fit of rage, and who has carved a chapel into the cliffs of the River Coquet to atone for this act. The Hermitage is described as “deep-hewn within a craggy cliff, and overhung with wood”, while the chapel “neatly arch’d on branching columns rose”. More details about the chapel follow. Of the castle, “Fair Warkworth lifts her lofty towers, and overlooks the sea”. The poem blames the Scots for the castle’s decline, ravaging the local farms and stealing wealth.
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| The Hermitage, Warkworth - geograph.org.uk. Photo by hayley green, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Warkworth lies a mile from the Northumbrian coast, just inland from Amble. The main street slopes uphill, leading to the castle entrance. The castle and Hermitage are run by English Heritage. Visits to the Hermitage are confined to Sundays and Mondays, and a place must be secured in advance at the castle on arrival.
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