Editing Dunstanburgh Castle (section)

===15th – 16th centuries===
[[File:Dunstanburgh Castle - geograph.org.uk - 924510.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Lilburn Tower, seen from the edge of the outer bailey]]
The Scottish threat persisted, and in 1402 Dunstanburgh Castle's constable, probably accompanied by its garrison, took part in the [[Battle of Homildon Hill]] in north Northumberland.<ref>{{harvnb|Cornell|2006|p=258}}</ref> [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] inherited the throne in 1422 and during the next few decades, numerous repairs were undertaken to the property's buildings and outer defences, which had fallen into disrepair.<ref>{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=32}}; {{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|pp=8–9}}</ref> The [[Wars of the Roses]], a dynastic conflict between the rival houses of [[House of Lancaster|Lancaster]] and [[House of York|York]], broke out in the middle of the 15th century.<ref name="oswald33"/> The castle was initially held by the Lancastrians, and the castle's constable, Sir Ralph Babthorpe, died at the [[First Battle of St Albans|Battle of St Albans]] in 1455, fighting for the Lancastrian Henry VI.<ref>{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=33}}; {{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|p=9}}</ref>

The castle formed part of a sequence of fortifications protecting the eastern route into Scotland, and in 1461 King [[Edward IV]] attempted to break the Lancastrian stranglehold on the region.<ref name="oswald33"/> Sir Ralph Percy, one of the joint constables, defended the castle until September 1461, when he surrendered it to the Yorkists.<ref name="oswald33"/> In 1462, Henry VI's wife, [[Margaret of Anjou]], invaded England with a French army, landing at [[Bamburgh]]; Percy then switched sides and declared himself for the Lancastrians.<ref>{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|pp=33–34}}</ref>

[[File:Dunstanburgh Castle and Whin Sill - geograph.org.uk - 109789.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|The Gull Crag cliffs and Lilburn Tower]]
Another Yorkist army was dispatched north in November under the joint command of [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]] and [[John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester]], and Sir Ralph Grey.<ref name="oswald34">{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=34}}</ref> They besieged the castle, which surrendered that Christmas.<ref name="oswald34"/> Percy was left in charge of Dunstanburgh as part of Edward IV's attempts at reconciliation, but the next year he once again switched sides, returning the castle to the Lancastrians.<ref name="blair10">{{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|p=10}}; {{harvnb|Middleton|Hardie|2009|p=22}}</ref> Percy died at the [[Battle of Hedgeley Moor]] in 1464, and the Earl of Warwick reoccupied the castle that June following a short siege.<ref name="blair10"/>

The castle was probably damaged during the wars, but, other than minor repairs in 1470, nothing was spent on repairs and it fell into disrepair.<ref name="oswald1955">{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=34}}; {{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|p=10}}; {{harvnb|Middleton|Hardie|2009|p=22}}</ref> It was used as a base for [[piracy]] in 1470, and by the 1520s its roof was robbed for the lead for use at the [[Wark on Tweed Castle|castle at Wark-upon-Tweed]], and further lead and timber were taken for the [[moot hall]] in Embleton.<ref name="oswald1955"/> By 1538 it was described in a royal report to [[Henry VIII]] as "a very ruinous house and of small strength", and it was observed that only the gatehouse was still habitable.<ref name="oswald34"/> Some repairs were carried out to the walls by Sir William Ellerker, the King's receiver, but a 1543 survey showed it to still be in poor condition.<ref name="blair1955">{{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|pp=10–11}}</ref>

In 1550 the [[Lord Warden of the Marches|Warden of the Middle and Eastern Marches]], Sir [[Robert Bowes (lawyer)|Robert Bowes]], described Dunstanburgh as being "in wonderfull great decaye".<ref name="blair1955"/> A report in 1584 suggested that it would cost Queen [[Elizabeth I]] £1,000 to restore the castle, but argued that it was too far from the Scottish border to be worth repairing.<ref>{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=35}}; {{harvnb|Blair|Honeyman|1955|p=11}}</ref> Alice Craster, a wealthy widow, occupied the castle from 1594 to 1597, probably living in the gatehouse, where she carried out restoration work, and farming the surrounding estate.<ref>{{harvnb|Oswald|Ashbee|2011|p=35}}; {{harvnb|Middleton|Hardie|2009|p=24}}</ref> For much of the 16th century, local farmers bought the right to use the outer bailey of the castle to store their cattle in the event of Scottish raids, at the price of six pence a year.<ref>{{harvnb|Middleton|Hardie|2009|pp=23–24}}</ref>