Bewcastle Castle is a ruined castle in the parish of
Bewcastle
Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland.
According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. The pari ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
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 ...
, a few miles from the Scottish border.
History
The first castle was built on the site of
Bewcastle Roman Fort, around 1092. The castle is surrounded by a dry moat, the north and east sections of which re-use the Roman ditch. The castle was destroyed in 1173, but was rebuilt towards the end of the 14th century. It was decayed by the early 15th century when
Edward IV granted it to his brother, the
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester () is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curren ...
, later to become King
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
. The buildings were repaired and the gatehouse was possibly added at this time. From the late 15th century, the castle was held by the
Musgrave family
The Musgrave family was a prominent Anglo-Scottish Border family with many descendants in the United States of America, Australia and the United Kingdom a so-called Riding or Border Reivers, Reiver clan of Cumberland and Westmorland. The earliest ...
. In 1602
Thomas Musgrave was accused by Lancelot Carleton to the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
of harbouring thieves in the castle . They fought a duel at Canonbie Holm to settle the issue.
Bewcastle Castle was reputedly destroyed by
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
in 1641. The castle was in a state of ruin by the 17th century, and although much of the stone was removed for nearby buildings, much of the
gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...
with its internal
garderobe
Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy".
The word der ...
still remains.
The element "castle" in the place-name Bewcastle probably refers to the Roman fort within which it was built, giving rise to the unusual repetition of the word in the castle name. However, the Ordnance Survey gives the name as Bew Castle.
[Landranger Series sheet 86. ]
Gallery
File:Bewcastle - geograph.org.uk - 1945279.jpg, Bewcastle castle
File:Bewcastle - geograph.org.uk - 460783.jpg, The castle
See also
*
Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
*
List of castles in England
This list of castles in England is not a list of every building and site that has "castle" as part of its name, nor does it list only buildings that conform to a strict definition of a castle as a medieval fortified residence. It is not a li ...
References
;Sources
*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980.
External links
{{commons category, Bewcastle Castle
Castles in Cumbria
Ruins in Cumbria
Ruined castles in England