Dunstanburgh Castle & Craster and the famous kippers

Dramatic Dunstanburgh Castle was built at a time when relations between King Edward II and his most powerful baron, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, had become openly hostile. Lancaster began the fortress in 1313. The innovative gatehouse, for instance, competed with the new royal castles in Wales.

The earl failed to reach Dunstanburgh when his rebellion was defeated, and was taken and executed in 1322. Thereafter the castle passed eventually to John of Gaunt, who strengthened it against the Scots by converting the great twin towered gatehouse into a keep




The castle occupies a prominent headland about 1 mile north of Craster. On the south side there is a gentle slope towards the castle. The northerly approach is much steeper and the northern perimeter juts into Embleton Bay forming a 150-foot (46 m) cliff. The headland itself is part of the Great Whin Sill, a geological formation stretching across Northumberland

Dunstanburgh Castle - Twin Drum Towered Gatehouse to the left

Dunstanburgh Castle - Lilburn Tower in foreground. Note the Whin sill (steep cliffs to the left)



Dunstanburgh Castle aerial view showing the Whin Sill and rocky beach below. Also note one mile distant Craster village at the top of this view

Dunstanburgh Castle using the natural features for protection



The present castle encloses the entire 11 acres headland. The southern approach is protected by a long enceinte wall punctuated by two rectangular towers (the Constable and Egyncleugh towers), two turrets and a large twin-towered gatehouse at the western corner. From the gatehouse, the wall carries northward along the hilltop to a rectangular turreted watch tower, known as the Lilburn Tower.

Lillburn Tower

Lillburn Tower from the north

The twin-towered gatehouse served as the principal residential block of the castle. Under John of Gaunt, the gateway was blocked, and the entrance to the castle carried around to the left via a mantlet wall and tower, rendering the gatehouse a more secure traditional keep. The area at the rear of the twin-towered gatehouse was enclosed in a courtyard by walls and a tower to form an inner ward, with access on the east side.
Composed of two tall D-shaped towers, the gatehouse-keep is a masterpiece of 14th century castle design. Each tower was of four stories, and was originally capped by four turrets about 80 feet above ground level. The long gate passage was protected by gates at each end and two soldiers' barracks line the passage at ground level. On the first floor the gatehouse was divided into three rooms, with the central one controlling the portcullis mechanism. On the second floor above ground level there was a large room running across the entire width of the gatehouse, comprising a hall and chambers. The arrangements of the other stories and above have not survived.

The castle has a very high standard of masonry, comfort and design, and was likely intended to house Earl Thomas and his entire retinue. Well-lit residential chambers furnished with fireplaces may be found in the Lilburn and Constable towers as well as in the gatehouse. The large, apparently unused land in the middle of the castle may have served as a billeting area for troops.

Lillburn Tower showing well lit residentioal chambers and fireplaces

THE VILLAGE OF CRASTER

Because much of the history is Craster is to do with herring fishing and kippers, and the quarrying and transportation of stone, it is possible you may get the impression that Craster is a dirty, smelly village. Nothing could be further from the truth. To illustrate just how pictureque the village is we start with some photographs of the village in all its glory.

Craster Harbour, the cottages on Dunstanburgh Road and Dunstnburgh Castle

An important feature for all the fishermen is the life boat station situated across the road from the harbour.

Opposite the lifeboat station, at the harbour side is the carving of a mermaid

Craster Harbour at night

Cottages on Dunstanburgh Road which overlook the harbour.

Cottagtes in Craster - pretty as a picture

The local hostelry - The Jolly Fisherman

Bar in the Jolly Fisherman

Craster is a small fishing village 6 miles northeast of Alnwick on the Northumbrian coast. It has a small and attractive harbour and offers a view northwards along the rocky shore to the spectacular ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. This is the nearest point of access to the castle and the approach must be made on foot as there is just a grassy path. The next village to the north is Embleton

Albert Craster was the founder of the Craster family and was given the township in the twelfth century. The family continued to reside there over the centuries, and built their home, Craster Tower, an imposing residence east of the village. The village of Craster owes its name to the Craster family. It was the Craster family who built the present harbour in 1906 in memory of Captain Craster who was killed on active service in India in 1904. A memorial on the harbour wall commemorates him.

For many years, the village has had a herring-curing business: The small harbour, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, was built in the nineteenth century, for the herring fishery. At the turn of the century, the North Sea was teeming with herring, and some twenty boats supplied four kipper/herring yards in the village. Great barrels of salt herring were exported to Germany and Russia, and fresh kippers were dispatched to Billingsgate Market. In the season, crews of herring-girls each split and gutted 2,000 fish a day.

Craster kippers are well known throughout England. L. Robson and Sons Ltd have supplied the Royal Family in the past. The kippers and smoked salmon are prepared in the traditional method of oak smoking. Their kippers and salmon are delivered next day to all parts of the U.K. mainland and can also be purchased either in their shop, locally and ordered online.



The remains of a tower on the end of the harbour are all that can be seen now of the much taller building which was part of the overhead equipment which used to convey the local stone from where it was quarried to boats in the harbour. A small distance inland lies Craster Tower, the home of the Craster family who owned the quarry and had the harbour improved for its benefit. Craster has prospered over the centuries from the stone that came from its Quarry - which was shipped off to become the kerbstones of London. Closed down in 1939, the Quarry is now a nature reserve under the protection of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust.

Thomas Wood Craster built a small mission in the village in 1877 so that villagers would not have to make the trip to Embleton to attend church, and this mission took his name. In its centenary year the Bishop of Newcastle dedicated the church and gave it the name 'St. Peter the fisherman'.

Craster - The mission church of St Peter the Fisherman

Detail of a window in the church, by L C Evitts, dedicated the Shafto Craster. Note the typical Northumbrian fishing cobles above the dedication.




L. Robson & Sons Ltd. is a fourth generation family business specialising in the traditional method of oak smoking kippers and salmon. Situated in Craster, the company still cures the fish in the original smokehouses which are over 130 years old.

Robsons smokehouse in Craster

In years gone by the herring were landed in the small harbour and taken directly to the curing sheds. Here the herring were sorted, some to be salted down in barrels for export to Europe and the remainder to be kippered. Over the years Craster kippers have earned an enviable reputation as one of the finest kippers in Britain. This reputation has been enhanced by its endorsement on numerous television programmes and the approval of many of the country's top chefs.

Robsons smokehouse in action

Hard at work smoking the herrings

To produce a "quality" product the essential ingredient is a top quality raw material and this is one of the main reasons that Robson's have earned their reputation. Only the plumpest herring with the correct oil content are used to produce Craster kippers. The actual process of changing these "silver darlings" to the renowned kipper sounds a simple enough method. First, the herring are split on a machine capable of splitting 500kg per hour, this replaces the numerous "herring girls" that used to split the herring by hand.

Then the herring are placed in a brine solution of plain salt and water for a predetermined length of time depending on their size and, lastly, they are hung on tenter hooks and placed in the cavernous smokehouses. Fires are placed under the rows of herring made of whitewood shavings and oak sawdust and these smoulder away for up to 16 hours before the kippers are ready.