There is one other famous, historical building on Holy Island and that is Lindisfarne Castle. ‘A castle that is not a castle, on an island that is not an island’; this is our motto. Since the island is only cut off when the causeway is covered, Lindisfarne is only a part-time island and, though Northumberland does have many castles, this is not one of them I’m afraid. Lindisfarne Castle was built in about 1570 by Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII, however it was actually used as a military fort to protect the Northumberland Coast from Scottish invasion. Scotland and England now have a fairly good relationship, but they haven’t always been great friends, in fact, Jacobite soldiers did capture the fort in 1715, though only for one night. The fort was in operation until 1892 when it was decommissioned, then in 1901 a man called Edward Hudson discovered the abandoned building and liked it so much that he bought it and turned it into his summer holiday home. Hudson decided that, to impress his visitors, the fort should be made to look more like a traditional castle, and he hired a well-known architect, Edwin Lutyens, to help him. They built lots of fancy furniture, added fireplaces, pretty bedrooms and even a portcullis, a metal grate that protected the entrance, because, of course, every castle must have one! Nobody lives in the castle anymore, but people often say that it would make a lovely home.
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