A Brittonic fort called Din Guarie stood on the rock, and the castle was first mentioned in 547, when Ida of Bernicia captured it. The Normans built a new castle that forms the core of the present structure. Henry II probably built the keep, which was complete by 1164. The infobox gives the 11th century, while the listing describes the masonry as 12th century.
The castle sits on a crag of volcanic dolerite that is part of the Whin Sill, and the main fabric is squared sandstone. Warwick's nine-month siege in 1464 used extensive artillery, and the article says it was the first British castle taken by gunfire.
Lord Crewe acquired the then ruinous castle in 1704. William Armstrong bought it in 1894 and restored it, with C. J. Ferguson's work dated 1894 to 1904, though the text says 1905. It is Grade I listed, open to the public, and still owned by the Armstrong family.
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