Corby Castle is an

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

of the

Howard family The House of Howard is an English noble house founded by John Howard, who was created Duke of Norfolk (third creation) by King Richard III of England in 1483. However, John was also the eldest grandson (although maternal) of the 1st Duke of the ...

situated on the southern edge of the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

of Great Corby in northern

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. C ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

It was originally built in the 13th century, as a red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

tower house by the Salkeld Family, who also owned the nearby Salkeld Hall of similar age. It was sold in 1611 to

Lord William Howard Lord William Howard (19 December 1563 – 7 October 1640) was an English nobleman and antiquary, sometimes known as "Belted or Bauld (bold) Will". Early life Howard was born on 19 December 1563 at Audley End in Essex. He was the third son ...

(1563–1640), the third son of

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, ( Kenninghall, Norfolk, 10 March 1536Tower Hill, London, 2 June 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. Although from a family with strong Roman Catholic leanings, he was raised a Protestant. He was ...

, who added a two-storied L-shaped house onto the peel tower. Corby Castle has an early-18th century

landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. Henry Howard (1757–1842) inherited the estate from Sir Francis Howard, Lord William Howard's second son. The present façade was built for Henry by Peter Nicholson between April 1812 and September 1817. Robert Martin and Ian Yeates started a glassworks in the grounds of Corby Castle in 1986. They made a range of glass ornaments such as paperweights, perfume bottles and vases. Their work is signed "Martin Yeates".

Present ownership

Corby Castle was sold by Sir John Howard-Lawson Bt. and Lady Howard-Lawson in 1994 to Irish businessman Edward Haughey. The principal contents of the Castle were sold in 1994 through Phillips of Scotland. Dr Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond (a life peer, represented the Ulster Unionist party in the House of Lords) and carried out a total refurbishment of Corby Castle, and used it for both family and corporate entertainment. Corby Bridge, a Grade I listed railway viaduct of 1834, is nearby.

In popular culture

In late 1981 Corby Castle was used as one of the main locations for the shooting of a five-part BBC mini-series. The dramatisation of

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for '' The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for '' The Moonstone'' (1868), which has b ...

' '' The Woman in White'' starred

Diana Quick Diana Marilyn Quick (born 23 November 1946) is an English actress. Early life and family background Quick was born on 23 November 1946 in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of four children. Her father was Leonard Qui ...

as Marian Halcombe.

References

{{coord, 54.8797, -2.8262, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Houses completed in the 13th century Towers completed in the 13th century Castles in Cumbria Country houses in Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria Peel towers in Cumbria + Grade I listed parks and gardens in Cumbria Wetheral

History

Present ownership

In popular culture

See also

References