Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage. The population of Warkworth was 1,493 in 2001, increasing to 1,574 at the 2011 Census. The village is situated in a loop of the River Coquet, about from the Northumberland coast and lies on the main A1068 road. It is north of Newcastle, and about south of the Scottish border. An ancient bridge of two arches crosses the river at Warkworth, with a fortified gateway on the road mounting to the castle, the site of which is surrounded on three sides by the river. Warkworth is popular with visitors for its old buildings, its walks by the River Coquet, and its proximity to the Northumberland Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is twinned with Warkworth, New Zealand, which is named after it. History A church has existed on the riverside site in the village for around 1,200 years. St Lawrence's Church is a large and almost completely Norman building, which is unique in Northumberland. The first record of the village dates from 737AD when King Ceolwulf of Northumbria gave the church and village to the Abbot and monks of Lindisfarne. In 1174, the church was the scene of a massacre when some 300 people were brutally butchered by Duncan, Earl of Fife during a Scottish raid. John Law, was vicar of Warkworth in the 1770s. Warkworth Castle was founded at an uncertain date; traditionally its construction has been ascribed to Prince Henry of Scotland in the mid-12th century, but it may have been built by King Henry II of England when he took control of England's northern counties. A timber castle was first documented in a charter of 1157–1164 when Henry II granted it to Roger fitz Richard. However it was considered "feeble", and was left undefended when the Scots invaded in 1173. Roger's son Robert inherited and improved the castle. Robert was a favourite of King John, and hosted him at Warkworth Castle in 1213. The castle remained in the family line, with periods of guardianship when heirs were too young to control their estates. King Edward I stayed overnight in 1292 and John de Clavering, a descendant of Roger fitz Richard, made the Crown his inheritor. With the outbreak of the Anglo-Scottish Wars, Edward II invested in castles including Warkworth where he funded the strengthening