Dacre Castle
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Dacre Castle is a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed
tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
in the village of Dacre, south-west of Penrith,
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. It was constructed in the mid-14th century, probably by Margaret Multon, against the background of the threat of Scottish invasion and raids, and was held in the Dacre family until the 17th century. The tower house is tall, built out of local
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) ...
, topped by
crenellations A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
, with four turrets protruding from a central block, and includes an ornate
lavabo A lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands. It consists normally of a ewer or container of some kind to pour water, and a bowl to catch the water as it falls off the hands. In ecclesiastical usage it refers to all of: the b ...
in the main hall. Renovated during the 1670s and 1960s after periods of disrepair, the castle is now used as a private home.


History

Dacre Castle was probably built by Margaret Multon, the wife of Ralph Dacre, in the middle of the 14th century. The Dacre family had risen in prominence in Cumbria during the 12th and early 13th centuries, and William Dacre, Ralph's father, had acquired a
licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within the ...
the property of Dunmallogt in 1307, quite close to the future site of Dacre Castle. Ralph married Margaret in 1317, becoming extremely wealth as a result, and received permission to found
Naworth Castle Naworth Castle, also known or recorded in historical documents as "Naward", is a castle in Cumbria, England, near the town of Brampton. It is adjacent to the A69, about east of Brampton. It is on the opposite side of the River Irthing to, and ...
in 1335. Margaret built Dacre Castle at some point between Ralph's death in 1339 and 1354, with the intention of creating a fortified home. Many tower houses were built across the region during the period in response to the threat of Scottish raids and invasions. There may have been an older building already on the site, possibly
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed, but this is uncertain. After Margaret's death, the castle continued to be owned by the Dacre family until the death of Randal Dacre in 1634, when it passed briefly to the Crown. By 1675 the castle had become derelict and was restored by the then
Lord Dacre Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, every time by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ. History The first creation came in 1321 when Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre, Ralph Dacre was Hereditary peer# ...
, Thomas Lennard. A new entrance to the castle was constructed and square, 17th-century windows installed. After Thomas's death in 1715 the castle was sold to Edward Hassell. The condition of the castle deteriorated again in the 18th century, becoming overgrown and dilapidated, and by the 19th century the Hassell family were using it as a farmhouse. In 1961, the castle was leased for 22 years by Anthony and Bunty Kinsman, at a cost of £1,000. The property required extensive structural repairs and renovations in order to be made habitable, which the Kinsmans undertook over the next two years. The construction work cost £8,596, and some financial support was provided by the Ministry of Works in exchange for the castle being opened to the public for the next fifteen years. The new oak doors in the castle were fitted with iron hinges that had originally been used in nearby
Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a country house in the historic county of Westmorland, which now forms part of the modern county of Cumbria, England. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. It is a fu ...
. In 1967, the castle was visited by Princess Sharada Shah, the daughter of the King
Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...
, as part of an official trip to the UK. In the 21st century the castle is owned by the Hassell-McCosh family and is rented out as a private home. It is protected under UK law as a
grade I 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 ...
.


Architecture

Dacre Castle lies in a valley, overlooking a stream and fields.; It comprises a
tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
surrounded by a three-sided moat, creating an enclosed courtyard to the east by across. The moat is between to wide and up to deep, with a protective bank on the south and west sides; originally a wall would have surrounded the outside of the courtyard. The courtyard originally held various buildings, possibly stables and offices, but the tower house was designed to operate independently, without the need for attached facilities. Architecturally, the design of Dacre resembles Harewood and
Langley Castle Langley Castle is a restored medieval tower house, now operated as a hotel, situated in the village of Langley in the valley of the River South Tyne some south of Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed building. Details ...
s. The tower house is in the north-east corner of the enclosure and takes the form of a square, central block, with two large turrets on one side and two smaller turrets resembling angular
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es on the other.; It is made of large blocks of local
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) ...
and the roof is
crenellate A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
d. The central block is by inside, and is tall, with thick walls. The building was originally entered through the south-west turret on the ground-floor, but since the 17th century the entrance way has been directly into the central block up an exterior staircase. The ground floor of the central block contains two vaulted chambers and the first-floor forms a hall containing an ornate
lavabo A lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands. It consists normally of a ewer or container of some kind to pour water, and a bowl to catch the water as it falls off the hands. In ecclesiastical usage it refers to all of: the b ...
, with smaller chambers in the turrets. The second floor similarly forms a single large chamber, high, with rooms in each of the adjacent turrets, and is traditionally called the "Room of the Three Kings", after the legend described by
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...
. In the 14th century, these large chambers would have been subdivided into smaller rooms. The renovations in the 1960s uncovered a possible
priest hole A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...
behind the fireplace in the Room of the Three Kings, by ; this chamber was re-sealed to avoid the cost of restoring it.


See also

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Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria There are over 9000 Grade I listed buildings in England. This page is a list of these buildings in the county of Cumbria, sub-divided by district. Allerdale Barrow-in-Furness Carlisle ...
*
Listed buildings in Dacre, Cumbria Dacre is a civil parish in the Eden District, Cumbria, England. It contains 68 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, five are at ...
*
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 10 ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

* {{Authority control Houses completed in the 14th century Towers completed in the 14th century Peel towers in Cumbria Dacre, Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria