Siege of Durham Castle (1143)

History & Significance

The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153 which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin—the only legitimate son of King Henry I—who drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120. Henry then sought to leave the English throne to his daughter, Empress Matilda, but was only partially successful in convincing the nobility to support her. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne with the help of his brother Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester. King Stephen's early reign saw fierce fighting with disloyal English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders. Following a major rebellion in the southwest of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester.

In the initial years of civil war, neither side achieved a decisive advantage; Matilda came to control southwest England and much of the Thames Valley, while Stephen remained in control of the southeast. Barons who refused to support either side held much of the country. Castles were easily defended in this period, so the fighting was mostly attrition warfare: sieges, raiding and skirmishing. Armies mainly consisted of knights and infantry, many of them mercenaries. In 1141 Stephen was captured following the Battle of Lincoln, causing a collapse in his authority over most of the country. When Matilda attempted to be crowned queen, she was forced out of London by hostile crowds; shortly afterwards, Robert of Gloucester was captured by Stephen's wife, Matilda of Boulogne, at the rout of Winchester. The two sides agreed to exchange the captives Stephen and Robert. Stephen then almost captured Matilda in 1142 during the Siege of Oxford, but she escaped from Oxford Castle across the frozen Thames to safety.

The war continued for another 11 years. Matilda's husband, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, conquered Normandy in her name in 1143, but in England, neither side could achieve victory. Rebel barons began to acquire ever greater power in Northern England and in East Anglia, with widespread devastation in the regions of major fighting. In 1148 Matilda returned to Normandy, leaving the campaigning in England to her eldest son, Henry FitzEmpress (future King Henry II of England). In 1152 Stephen attempted to have his eldest son, Eustace, recognised by the Catholic Church as the next king of England, but the Church refused. By the early 1150s, most barons and the Church were war-weary and favoured negotiating a long-term peace.

The ground they fought on

The site of Siege of Durham Castle (1143) lies on Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation And South Wales Middle Coal Measures Formation (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Moscovian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, coal, ironstone and ferricrete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Siege of Durham Castle (1143)

Framwellgate Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.1 mi

Framwellgate Bridge is a medieval bridge crossing the River Wear in Durham, dating to the twelfth century. The structure comprises a series of stone arches and has been substantially rebuilt and modified over its long history, particularly during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, though i…

Tom Page / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Elvet Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.2 mi

Elvet Bridge is a medieval bridge spanning the River Wear in Durham, England, first constructed in the twelfth century as a vital crossing for travellers and commerce approaching Durham city from the south. The bridge originally comprised a series of stone arches, though it has undergone substant…

KlausFoehl / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons

The Water Gate

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

The Water Gate is a medieval fortified gateway structure located in Durham, England, forming part of the town's defensive architecture. Dating to the medieval period, the structure represents an important element of Durham's urban fortifications, controlling access to the settlement via the River…

St Cuthbert's Society, University of Durham / Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Prebend's Bridge

Scheduled monument · ~0.3 mi

Prebend's Bridge is a medieval stone bridge crossing the River Wear in Durham. The bridge dates from the fourteenth century and represents an important example of medieval bridge construction in the North East of England. It takes its name from the prebends, or cathedral clergy, whose lands it se…

PeterGHughes at English Wikipedia / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons

Maiden's Bower round cairn

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Maiden's Bower is a Neolithic or Early Bronze Age round cairn located in Durham, England. The monument comprises a mound of stones constructed as a burial structure, characteristic of funerary monuments erected during the prehistoric period in northern Britain. The cairn survives as a discernible…

Aquaquaticat / CC BY 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Neville's Cross

Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Neville's Cross is a medieval stone cross located in Durham, England, erected in the mid-fourteenth century to commemorate the Battle of Neville's Cross fought in 1346. The monument stands as a substantial example of a wayside cross from the later medieval period and marks the site where English…

Gordon Griffiths / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Other Medieval Battles

Battles near Siege of Durham Castle (1143)

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