Armathwaite Castle is in the village of

Armathwaite Armathwaite is a village in the English ceremonial county of Cumbria. Historically within the county of Cumberland, Armathwaite lies on the River Eden, forms part of Eden district and is served by Armathwaite railway station. The majority of t ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, by the River Eden. Originally built to defend against Scottish raiders in the 15th century, it was converted into a mansion and today is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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Armathwaite Castle was built in the 15th century on a strong point along the west side of the River Eden by the Skelton family. Although the precise date of its construction cannot be ascertained it was most probably constructed by John Skelton in 1445. The Skelton family appears to have been a well known family, being the representatives of

the county ''The County'' ( is, Héraðið) is a 2019 Icelandic Melodrama#Film, melodrama directed by Grímur Hákonarson. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Cast * Arndís Hrönn Egi ...

and the city of Carlisle at the parliament. The castle was a four-storied

pele tower Peel towers (also spelt pele) are small fortified keeps or tower houses, built along the English and Scottish borders in the Scottish Marches and North of England, mainly between the mid-14th century and about 1600. They were free-standing ...

with the facade constructed from hewn stone and protected the Eden valley from Scottish raiders. The castle estate also includes a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nunnery called Nun's Close. The founder of this nunnery is now known, with some sources naming

William Rufus William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

, while other disagreeing and stating that he founded a religious house at the nunnery, not the nunnery itself. The Skeltons resided at the castle till 1712, when Richard Skelton sold the castle to William Sanderson. Robert Sanderson Milbourne (1660–1741), inherited the castle from his brother in 1727. Robert was assistant to

Thomas Rymer Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 14 December 1713) was an English poet, critic, antiquary and historian. His lasting contribution was to compile and publish 16 volumes of the first edition of ''Foedera'', a work in 20 volumes conveying agreements betwe ...

in preparing the massive 20-volume ''Foedera'' (a compilation of treaties between England and foreign states from 1066 to 1654), and he made the castle the centre of a collection of antiquities and relics. It passed to the Milbournes and in 1846 onto William Lowther, the 2nd

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

. It was reported in 1892 that the castle had fallen into disrepair. In the early 19th century the castle was converted into a mansion, faced with

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

cut stone in a classical style, with an adjacent wing for offices. Today the castle is privately owned.

References

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External links

* {{cite web , title = Images of England: Armathwaite Castle , publisher =

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, url = https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1145496 , access-date = 2007-12-02 , ref = {{sfnRef, Images of England Castles in Cumbria Grade II* listed buildings in Cumbria Eden District

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