Flamborough Castle

Flamborough Castle stands on the cliffs above the North Sea in the village of Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire. Built on the site of an earlier oratory from 1319, the castle was begun in 1352 by Marmaduke Constable after he received permission from King Edward III. The main tower, known as the Danish Tower, formed the heart of the fortified manor house. The Constable family lived there until Sir Robert Constable’s execution in 1537 forced them to forfeit the property. By the late 16th century the castle was already in ruins, sold in 1636 and later used as a cattle barn for over a century. The surviving remains include three walls of the Danish Tower, standing only four metres tall. Excavations led by J. R. Earnshaw around 1964 and again between 2017 and 2018 uncovered earthworks and traces of earlier buildings. John Leyland’s 16th-century account lists a tower, hall, parlours, chapel, court house, mill house and great barn on the site. Over time, stones were taken for local construction and lime kilns were built within the ruins. Visitors today walk among the low stone walls and earthworks that mark the castle’s former extent. The Danish Tower’s remaining fragments offer a quiet reminder of the Constable family’s rise and fall. The exposed coastal position gives sweeping views over the North Sea and the surrounding countryside. The site is peaceful, with no modern intrusions, letting the ruins speak for themselves.