Wark Castle

Wark on Tweed lies about 3.5 miles south-west of the border town of Coldstream. Today, it is a small, quiet village of just a few houses situated next to the River Tweed. However, Wark wasn't always so peaceful; throughout most of the medieval period it was home to one of the most strategically important castles in the country and the scene of frequent skirmishes and sieges.

The castle itself, originally built in the early 12th century, had a long and complex sequence of development, culminating in the construction of an artillery fortress during the reign of Henry VIII. Very little excavation has been carried out at Wark; most of our information has come from historic accounts and plans and from detailed surveys undertaken in the 1990s, most of which relates to the later phases of the castle.

We have used all the available information to reconstruct how the castle looked at key points in its history. Using the tabs above you can move between reconstructions of the castle, learn about medieval archery, discover the truth behind the legend of the Order of the Garter, or browse the archive.