Report of Meefingf^ for 1 S9(). By T)r J. Hardy. 79 



castle had sustained in all those years had rendered it almost a rain, bnt 

 King Henry II. rebuilt it. In 1216 King John set fire to the villaoe and 

 castle, and again it was rebuilt. In 1255 Henry III. and his queen resided 

 in the castle. In the year 1296 King Edward I. was at Wark Castle at 

 Easter and inarched into Scotland at the head of a great army. In the 

 following year (1297) Sir William Wallace is said to have been at the castle 

 during his incursion into England. King Edward I. was back again to 

 Wark four years before his death. King Edward IT. mustered his 

 great army at Wark which afterwards fought at Bannockburn. In 1318 

 the castle was taken by Robert Bruce, but was again taken by the English 

 a few years afterwards ; for in the j'ear 1342 Sir William Montague, the 

 governor, with forty horsemen, sallied out and attacked the rear of King 

 David the Second's army, who were returning from England laden with 

 plunder. Sir William and his men captured 160 horses that were bearing 

 away the spoils. Incensed at this attack, David led his army against the 

 castle and invested it. The Governor, however, passed through the 

 enemy's lines at night and conveyed the intelligence to Edward III., who 

 had reached Northumberland in pursuit of King David and his army. 

 The English King approached the castle with redoubled speed, and the 

 Scottish chieftains, unwilling to risk the loss of their booty, persuaded 

 their Monarch to abandon the siege of the castle, and continue his march 

 back into his own kingdom. This he did only six hours before King 

 Edward and his army reached Wark. The English Court remained at 

 Wark Castle for some time, and it was here that the Order of the Garter 

 is said to have been instituted by King Edward III. in 1349. History 

 says : " At a Court ball held in the castle Lady Salisbury had the 

 misfortune to drop her garter. The king gallantly picked it up, presented 

 it to her, and seeing some of his courtiers smile, turned round upon them 

 with the memorable words — " Honi soit qui mal y pense," adding, 

 " Shortly you shall st^e that garter advanced to so high an honour and 

 renown ns to account yourselves happy to wear it." Tn 1385 the Scots 

 again captured the castle and dismantled it. It was restoi'ed to King- 

 Henry IV. In 1419 William Haliburton took it by surprise, and in the 

 same year it was retaken by the English under Sir Robert Ogle. In 1460 

 the Scots once again had it and left it in a most ruinous condition. The 

 castle was repaired by the English, and again demolished by the Scots 

 just before the battle of Flodden. It was repaired by the Earl of Surrey 

 in 1523. The Earl of Sussex spent a night in it in the year 1570. After 

 the Union tlio mucii-liattered stronghold was no longer needed, and it 

 fell into ruin. 



Mr E. Scott of Wark boat-house had prepared a plan which 

 showed very plainly the various repairs and rebuildings that had 

 gone on at the castle during its eventful history. Tti the year 

 1862 extensive excavations were made, and in the course of the 

 progress of the work it was clearly proved that one structure had 

 been built on the ruins of another. Underneath the whole 



