The article calls the builder uncertain, naming Prince Henry of Scotland, Henry II and Roger fitz Richard as possibilities. It began as a timber castle, and stone work followed in the early 13th century. The 1st Earl of Northumberland added the current keep in the last quarter of the 14th century. John Lewyn is probably its master mason. The keep has a Greek cross plan and stands on an earlier motte, and the well is about 59 feet (18 m) deep.
Henry IV's cannon forced the garrison to surrender in 1405. Parliamentarian forces stripped it in 1648, and 272 cart-loads of stone were taken from the keep in 1672. Anthony Salvin restored the keep from 1853 to 1858.
The Duke of Northumberland owns it and English Heritage has managed it since 1984. It is a scheduled monument and Grade I listed.
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