Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle occupies one of the most dramatic castle sites in England, a rocky headland jutting into the North Sea between the town's two bays with sheer drops on three sides that made it the most naturally defended position on this stretch of the Yorkshire coast. The views from the headland sweep across the North Bay to the north, the South Bay with its famous beach to the south, and the open sea to the east, creating a panorama that makes clear why humans have fortified this headland since the Bronze Age. The medieval castle was established by William le Gros, Count of Aumale, around 1136 and subsequently taken over by the crown when Henry II purchased it in 1155. Henry invested heavily in the site, constructing the great keep that still stands to a height of over 30 metres despite losing its upper stories and one corner wall in a dramatic collapse during the seventeenth century. The keep was one of the largest and most expensive built by Henry II in the north of England and, together with his works at Newcastle, Richmond and elsewhere, demonstrates the strategic importance he attached to controlling Yorkshire. The castle played a role in some of the most turbulent episodes in English medieval history. Piers Gaveston, the controversial favourite of Edward II, used the castle as a refuge in 1312 and was besieged here by nobles who were determined to end his influence over the king. After negotiating what proved to be an illusory safe conduct, Gaveston was captured and executed, an episode that contributed directly to the political crisis culminating in Edward's own deposition and murder. During the Civil War the castle endured two long sieges before eventually surrendering to Parliamentary forces in 1645. The German naval bombardment of Scarborough in December 1914, which killed 18 civilians and damaged buildings across the town, provided one of the most effective British recruiting posters of the First World War under the slogan Remember Scarborough. The castle itself was damaged by German naval shells during this attack. English Heritage manages the castle and the site includes an excellent visitor centre, exhibits about the castle's long history and access to the headland promontory with its extraordinary coastal views.