When the gate shattered it took with it two sections of wall. There was a huge gap. As Sir Richard and his men left the ram Sir Wulfric led his column at a run through the gap. I heard the clash of steel and the cries of the first men dying. I raised my sword, “Men of Cleveland, follow me!”
We marched across the three bridges. Alf carried my standard in one hand and his sword in the other. He was a brave man. Without a shield, he was a target for any with a sling, a bow or a crossbow. I stepped around the abandoned ram and over the bodies of the first of the dead. Most were Scots but Sir Richard had lost two men. The defenders were racing across the inner ward towards the keep. Sir Richard and his men were keen to avenge their two losses and they hurtled after them. There were crossbows on the top of the keep but too few of them. Archers sent their arrows to pluck them from the fighting platform.
I could hear screams from inside the keep. They had women and children with them. As we raced up the mound I saw that there were many bodies littering its side. There were few of our men. They were simply outclassed. Sir Richard and his squire threw themselves at the door as the last Scot raced inside and they tried to close it. They failed and the two of them burst in. I saw weapons hacking at them but the two wore mail and had good swords.
Wulfric led his men to crash through after them. I could hear Wulfric’s roar as he hacked his way through the defenders on the ground floor. It was now a matter of time. My men knew their business. They would not rush. They would take their time and slowly chop and hack their way to the fighting platform. Wulfric was leading them. If they surrendered he would accept it. If not then they were as good as dead. When I saw the standard flutter to the ground then I knew that it was all over. We had taken what would become a pivotal castle in King Henry’s east coast defences against the Scots. I wrote another letter to my wife and sent it back with Edward. I began to spy a hope that I might be home before Christmas.
Chapter 4
Dick and his archers rode to the Aln and reported that the motte and bailey there was empty. I sent Henry de Percy and his men to take the castle and make it Henry’s. He was keen to begin work on a solid stone structure. With the Aln, Coquet, Wansbeck and Tyne secured we could control the land south of the Coquet. We left next morning for Bamburgh. I had no doubt that they would defend this one and there was a stone gate and wall at this castle. The castle of Bamburgh, ancient home of the Bernicians, would not be easy.
We had twenty miles to travel and the land was flat. We could, however, be seen from a great distance. They would know we were coming. We could not avoid it. The castle was large and would have an impressive garrison. I believed that, although we had garrisoned four castles and sent prisoners back under escort, we still had our war machines on the wagons and more than enough men for the task. We would have to lay siege to the castle. The castle was in the heartland of the land stolen by the Scots. It was cold, especially at night, but winter was not yet upon us. We needed to capture Bamburgh and to get to Norham as soon as we could. We could not afford a long siege at Bamburgh. If the castle was too well defended and looked too strong then I would leave a holding force and head to Norham. I wanted the border closed! If we had to sit around Bamburgh all winter then we would do so.
The banners flew from the walls. It was Fitzalan again. He had not been at Warkworth. Would he be here? I suspected not. We had questioned the captives. They were loyal to their leader whom they felt should be King of Scotland. Malcolm was seen as a milksop. They gave us no indication of the Scottish lord’s whereabouts. Bamburgh was a hard place to take but, unless the Scots had ships to keep it resupplied, it was an easy castle to besiege. They had a wall but had they supplies? All of the places we had captured had not had the supplies a garrison would need to stave off hunger.
“Dick, Sir Harold, take your men and secure the settlement. Make sure that no one can enter or leave from the north.” There were houses and a church around the small harbour of Bamburgh. “If they are English in the houses then leave them be. If they are Scots evict them and send them north. It is not yet winter. They can find their kin and live off them.” This was a cruel war. I had been ordered to look after the English. We had given the Scots more than enough time to vacate and return to their northern homes. If they had chosen to defy King Henry they would discover that his Warlord was no milksop!
This time there was no ditch. The castle stood on top of a mighty rock. There were two entrances. One was only accessible at low tide. That one was on the small harbour side. The other involved a climb up a steep, twisting path. A wall allowed the defenders to assault any attacker as they laboured up the slope. At the top of the path, the gatehouse was set at right angles to the path. This would not be easy. I led my war machines, knights, men at arms, archers and baggage train to the south gate. That would be where we would make our main assault.
I rode my horse towards the flat area to the south of the castle. More than four hundred paces from the impressive castle walls we would be safe from missiles and sheltered by the dunes from the wind. It was set amongst grass held sand and would be dry. The dunes would also help to disguise our camp both from the walls and any ships which came to resupply the castle. What we did not have ready access to was fresh water. I realised that the settlement had to have a well and I sent Sir John and his men to find it. They could then join Sir Harold and Dick. We had more than enough men at the south gate.
I waved John of Chester over. “Begin to build the onagers and ram. We will just need one of each.”
He nodded, “It looks a perilous hard place to take, lord.”
I nodded. “And this time we will not have wooden walls to destroy. We will have to destroy stone.”
He pointed, “They only have a wooden keep.”
“True and it is surrounded by a wooden palisade. It is this stone wall and gatehouse we need to worry about.” I walked to the beach and stared at the sea wall. The huge stones had been there for centuries. They not only defended the castle from man but nature too. I could see that winter high tides had battered the seaward walls. I headed back to the camp.
Brother Peter wandered over. He was rubbing his chin. I watched him staring at the walls. He saw me staring and smiled, “When I was in the Holy Land I spoke with some Muslim warriors we had captured. Unlike the Templars we did not slay them on sight. They were interesting fellows. They told me that you can destroy a castle walls, even if they are made of stone, by digging a hole beneath them and packing them with timber supports. When you burn them, then the wall will collapse.”
I pointed, “That, however, is built on solid stone.”
He nodded, “I know but do you see the mortar between the stones? If is old and crumbling. In places weeds have grown there. I am wagering that on the east side, the seaward side, it is even worse for the action of the wind and the waves will weaken it.”
I could not see where he was going with this but he had my interest, “Go on.”
“If you had men fill woven baskets with kindling and a candle then, at night, you could have them scale the dunes and place the slow fires at the base of the walls. They would burn slowly. You might have to repeat this four or five times but I believe it would work. The mortar would crumble and we could then try to lever out stones. Who knows they might fall of their own accord. If it did not work then you have lost a little kindling and candles. You could do it while you batter the walls with the siege machines.”
“You may be right and, at the very least it will worry the defenders. I do not think that they will have many sentries on the sea wall. This way we force them to increase their vigilance and we can then use the onager to batter the wall and seek weaknesses. Thank you, Brother Peter.”
“So long as I save men’s lives then I am happy.”
It was getting on to dark by the time we had the castle surrounded and the camp ready. We had taken all of the supplies from the village and we slaughtered two pigs and four sheep. They would be added to the dried rations we had br
ought. The wind was from the south and it took the appetising smell into the castle. It was a small thing but it would add to the discomfort of the defenders. We had to break their will as well as their bodies. We were like the tide on a stone. It would take time to reduce it to pebbles and then sand.
I left Wulfric to begin the assault with the onager. I went with Brother Peter and John of Chester to examine the sea wall. I told him the plan. “What do you think, John of Chester?”
“Aye, lord, it could work. If we had archers who could see well at night then it would stop us begin attacked while we worked.” He turned to Brother Peter. “Will it work?”
Brother Peter shrugged, “I see no reason why it should not.”
I waved to the two men, “You get the baskets and candles organised. I will go and see how the attack goes.”
As with Warkworth the archers were protected so that they could close with the walls. The difference at Bamburgh was that the walls were much higher and they had stone behind which to shelter. We would not see as many men pitching over the walls. On the other hand, the crossbowmen had to lean out to hit our men. The onager was protected by planks of wood. It was being directed at the wall next to the gate. The second onager was being prepared but it would not be used until the first one suffered damage. Alf handed me my shield as soon as I came within range of the crossbows. I was a tempting target. A bolt thudded into my shield. Then there was a cry as one of the archers hit the crossbowman.
I went behind the onager where there was some protection. “How long before we have a breach?”
Wulfric rubbed his beard, “Two days and we should be able to use the ram. We can then switch the onager to the walls at the side of the gatehouse.”
“Good. I will ride and see Dick and Harold.” I wrapped my cloak closer about me. The wind was icy. I had forgotten just how cold this Northumbrian coast could be.
Alf and I mounted our horses and rode beyond crossbow range before joining the track which led from the south. We were able to ride along the length of the castle. In size it reminded me of Chinon although the stone work was nowhere near as good. The wooden keep looked old fashioned. I also knew that it would be vulnerable to fire. If we had the chance we would use fire for Roger de Mowbray had been ordered by King Henry to build a stone keep. We would need to destroy the wooden one.
The tide was in and so there was no action at the sea gate. My men were eating when I arrived. As we dismounted we heard, from the south, the crack of the onager as it sent its stones at the gate.
Dick had some bread and cheese in his hand as he rose to greet me. He said, “It has started, lord.”
“Aye it has. And here?”
“I have sent men up the coast to capture a couple of fishing boats. We can do little when the tide is in and that is when the Scots will try to bring ships with supplies. I want boats of our own so that we can discourage them.” My Captain of Archers pointed to the gate, “See how they have a narrow shelf on which to land. There are bollards there to tie up ships but, looking at the height, they can only do that at high tide. None came this morning and the tide is on the ebb.”
“Good, then they have had no supplies today.”
“I am guessing not.”
I told my knights of our plan. “Have your archers prepare fire arrows. I will send Alf with word when we attack. If you send fire arrows and my archers at the south gate do the same then the fire by the walls may be dismissed as arrows which missed their targets. They have wooden buildings within.”
Dick said, “If the wind is right we may set fire to the keep, the warrior hall or the stables. All are made of wood.”
Sir Harold nodded, “There were five English families here. They had endured much at the hands of the Scots. They have helped us greatly. They showed us where the Scots hid their food and their treasure. They showed us a second well too. They hate the Scots. Some villagers were killed by the barbarians!”
“And the Scottish families?”
“There were ten of those here and another eight had farms. We spent this morning evicting them. Sir John and his men are now scouring the land to make sure they are gone and to ensure that they are not being reinforced.”
“Good.”
We rode back to the south gate. I saw that the first onager was being repaired and the second one was being used. With tighter ropes, it was more powerful. I could see damage to the gate house already. One stone had been dislodged. They had built a thick wall at this most vulnerable part of their defences but we had only been attacking for half a day and we had evidence that we were winning. We needed patience. Most of the men were in camp. We could rotate those protecting archers and the onagers. We were wearing down not only the walls of the gatehouse but the will of the defenders.
I withdrew half of the archers and set them to making fire arrows. William of Lincoln led them. Alf said, “Lord you need to eat.”
“Aye.”
Men had been along the shore collecting shellfish. My servants and guards were also cooks and they had made a stew with the fish and greens collected in the fields. There were still some bones and meat from the animals we had slaughtered. They had been added. It was tasty.
Harry One Eye, who had taken charge of my guards, nodded towards the settlement, “Do they have ale there, lord?”
“I saw none, why?”
“There is little water close by.”
I saw Sir Tristan practising with his men, “Sir Tristan.”
He hurried over. “Aye lord.”
“There is a fishing village which is ten miles or so south of here. Take a wagon and see if they have ale.”
“Do we take or buy?”
“If it is Scots then take and send them hence. If it is English then buy.”
As I ate the stew I realised that, thanks to King Stephen, it would take many years to rid the land of the Scots. Worse, they would be keen to retake the rich land. Having enjoyed the riches of England after the poverty of Scotland they would fight hard to retake it. We would have war for years. We would need strong knights to hold it and make certain that we had secure borders. We were north of the Roman Wall here and that made the land harder to hold on to.
As darkness fell we withdrew the onager so that it could be repaired. Leaving a guard on the gate to prevent a sortie from the castle my men ate. John of Chester and Brother Peter had made their slow fires. “We will have to wait until low tide, lord. If we risk it at any other time then the spray may douse the flames.”
I nodded, “Alf, ride to Dick and tell him that we will attack at low tide. Ask Sir John to return with you.”
“Aye lord.”
Harry One Eye came up with a beaker of foaming ale, “Here lord. Sir Tristan found some beer. We have enough for a couple of days.”
I drank it. It was not as good as that we had in Stockton but it was better than nothing. I would have other knights scour the land for other ale wives. The reduction of Bamburgh was well under way but we still had some way to go.
It was later when Alf and Sir John rode in. “Sit. On the morrow, I would have you take your men and scout the road to Norham. I need to know if it is occupied and what defences it has. Are there Scots twixt here and there?”
Sir John took the ale proffered by Harry, “We rode as far as Belford. There were five Scottish families. We did not need to evict them. We approached slowly and they fled.”
“Did you ride north to Norham or to Berwick?”
“Norham.”
“Then it may end up being a refuge for the families that we have sent north.”
Alf asked, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing, lord?”
“It could be good, Alf, for they will have many more mouths to feed and Norham is not a large castle. Women and children may well become distressed when we attack.”
He nodded, finished his ale and stood, “I will ride back and prepare my men.”
I stayed at the gate while John of Chester led my men down to the sea wall, just before low
tide. I saw lights in the sky as Dick and his archers began to send fire arrows into the castle. As it was nearly low tide they could get much closer and I realised that my captain of archers was sending his arrows towards the keep.
I nodded to Robin Hawkeye, “Begin our arrows.”
The two attacks, at opposite ends of the castle would distract the defenders. It gave John of Chester’s attack more chance of success. I saw why Dick had chosen to attack the keep; the wind was from the north and east. Robin and the rest of my archers concentrated upon the roof of the gatehouse. Although the gatehouse itself was made of stone, they had a wooden roof to protect the defenders from arrows. The wind fanned the flames and soon the gatehouse was on fire. I saw that the keep was blazing too. They would be unable to haul up sea water to douse the flames as it was low tide. They would have to use water from the well. That would diminish their supply of fresh water. Brother Peter’s plan was working.
Once we had used the last of the fire arrows my archers switched to ordinary arrows and they sent them at any shadow they saw on the walls. The fire in the keep was contained but it was badly damaged. Brother Peter, John and the others returned and I looked at them, expectantly. Brother Peter shrugged, “The fire burned but we will not see the results until the morning.” He pointed to the glow from the keep. “Your archers did well.”
I nodded, “It went better than I had expected. Well done to all of you, now rest. Let us see what daylight brings.”
Daylight brought good news. There was now no roof on the gatehouse. I had the onager begin to lob stones there before we risked the ram. The keep was useless as a place to defend. The top had burned and although they had put out the fire the blackened timbers showed that it would be much weaker. Once we breached their gate then the castle would be ours. When we looked at the sea wall we saw that four of the stones from the base of the wall had fallen into the sea. Had we been able to attack from that side then we could have broken through.
Irish War (Anarchy Book 16) Page 6