Days out in the Borders : Ford Castle

Friday 3 August 2018

Ford Castle

Ford Castle

Ford castle is located in the village of Ford just over 11 miles from Berwick-Upon-Tweed and not far from the Scottish Border. The castle dates from about 1278 and was crenelated in 1338 by the owner .Sir William Heron. However, in 1385 it was captured by the Scots and dismantled. By the beginning of the 16th century the castle had been rebuilt and refortified only to be taken 1n 1513 by James IV before the battle of Flodden. In 1549 the castle was passed to the Carr family by marriage and then in the 1660's to Sir Francis Blake, also by marriage.

In 1694 Blake built a large Tudor style mansion within the castle and when he died in 1717 the estate passed firstly to his son-in-law and then in 1723 to his grandson, Francis Blake Delaval. The estate continued to be passed down throughout the family and was eventually inherited by the Waterford family. in 1907 James Joicey acquired both the Ford estate and the nearby estate of Etal, thus joining the two estates and creating the Ford and Etal estate, a great place to visit.

Today the castle is used as a residential education centre and is not open to the public but can be viewed from the church and the village.