The Percys supported the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses , and the second earl and his successor – Henry Percy , 3rd Earl of Northumberland – were killed at the battles of St Albans in 1455 and Towton in 1461 respectively . The new king , Edward IV , issued an attainder against the family and their property was confiscated . On 1 August 1464 , as a result of suppressing Lancastrian rebellions in the north for the previous three years , the title of Earl of Northumberland was given to The 1st Marquess of Montagu , a Yorkist , and with it , the castle . During his tenure , he constructed a twenty-five-foot tall rectangular tower , built for defence , " with arrow slits in the three outer walls ; " this is known as ' Montagu 's Tower ' to this day . His brother , The 16th Earl of Warwick , used Warkworth as a base from which the Lancastrian-held castles of Northumberland – Alnwick , Bamburgh , and Dunstanburgh – were attacked and their sieges co-ordinated . In 1470 Edward IV returned the Percys ' estates to the eldest son of the third earl , who was also called Henry Percy . A year later Henry was granted the earldom of Northumberland . Some time after 1472 Henry remodelled the building of the bailey . He also planned to build a collegiate church within the castle , but the work was abandoned after his death . When the fourth earl was murdered in 1489 , his son , Henry Algernon , inherited and maintained the castle . In the early 16th century Henry Percy , 6th Earl of Northumberland , was responsible for clearing the collegiate church founded by his grandfather , but left incomplete by the fifth earl . Thomas Percy , brother of the sixth earl , was executed for his role in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 . When Henry Percy died the next year without any sons , the family 's property passed to the Crown . Although royal officers still used the castle , by 1550 it had fallen into disrepair . In 1557 the Percy estates were restored to the descendants of Thomas , and the nephew of the sixth earl , another Thomas Percy , was given the earldom . He began a programme of repairs at the castle , and in the process dismantled " the hall and other houses of office "
Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
Warkworth Castle