Spofforth Castle is one of the area’s best-kept secrets for a summer day out around the Wetherby area.
Tucked into a rocky outcrop above the village of Spofforth, on the doorstep of Wetherby and Boston Spa, sits one of Yorkshire’s most atmospheric ruins. Spofforth Castle was the seat of the Percy family, one of the most powerful dynasties in Northern England, from soon after the Norman Conquest until the late 14th century. William de Percy, a favourite of William the Conqueror, built the first manor house here in the 11th century. According to local legend, it was at Spofforth in 1215 that rebel barons drew up the Magna Carta, the document that would go on to limit the power of the English Crown forever.
“It’s a great day out for families with the rich history…”
The surviving ruins date mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries, after Henry de Percy was granted a licence to fortify the manor in 1308. What remains today is the west range: an undercroft carved directly into the rock, the great hall above it, and a slender turret that wouldn’t look out of place in a fairytale. The castle’s fortunes turned in 1461, when the Percys backed the losing side at the Battle of Towton and victorious Yorkist forces burned Spofforth to the ground. It lay in ruins for nearly a century before a partial restoration in 1559, though by then the family’s main seat had shifted to Alnwick. The castle’s final occupant, steward Sampson Ingleby, died in 1604, and the Civil War finished what Towton had started.
It’s a great day out for families, with the rich history and evocative setting of the site firing the imagination. Children can clamber the steps to the old courtyard, peer down the passage cut through solid rock, and ponder which fairytale characters would be most at home in that turret. There are no entry barriers, no ticket office, and, importantly, no pressure and no rush. With just a ruin, a hillside, and a good story, it’s an accessible spot for memories to be made.
It’s also worth lingering awhile in Spofforth village itself. Much of it sits within a conservation area, with 13 buildings on the list of Grade I and II listed structures, and the River Crimple, a tributary of the Wharfe, weaves through the green. There is a village shop and post office, two pubs (The Castle Inn and The Railway Inn), and an easy, unhurried pace that makes it a natural stop on a day exploring the area.
Spofforth Castle is on Castle Street, off the A661, HG3 1DA. Free entry and roadside parking in the village. Open 10am to 6pm from April to September. Dogs on leads are welcome.
