Penrith Castle
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Penrith Castle is a now-ruined
medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
located in Penrith, in the
north-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...
of England, a few miles to the east of the
Lake District National Park The Lake District National Park is a national park in North West England that includes all of the central Lake District, though the town of Kendal, some coastal areas, and the Lakeland Peninsulas are outside the park boundary. The area was desi ...
.


Early history

The site of the castle, in the west of the town is likely to have been a Roman encampment, as it has an irregular and quadrilateral layout.


Fifteenth century origins

Penrith Castle was built between 1399 and 1470 as a defence against Scottish raids; it has been said that, unlike so many of its counterparts in the north, 'the building exhibits no indication of very ancient date.' The lordship of Penrith was created in 1397 as a grant to the newly created
earl of Westmorland Earl of Westmorland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created in 1397 for Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, Ralph Neville. It was forfeited in 1571 by Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorl ...
, and the castle was mentioned in a grant of 1437. Previously believed to have been first built by William Strickland who later become
Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The see is in the city of Car ...
, the lateness of this reference, it has been suggested, indicates that the most likely builder was Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. However, it is not known whether this was ‘new work on a fresh site, or whether he simply utilized Strickland’s works as the core of his building.’ It is now considered more likely that Strickland built Hutton Hall, near the church in Penrith, instead, and furthermore that a ' tenurial reconstruction shows that he tricklanddid not hold the castle site.' There is a possible reference to a construction in the site of the castle as early as 1412, and Westmorland is known to have granted the building of a tower there, from his
comital Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
seat at
Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...
, the next year. Either way, it seems most unlikely that 'it was built not by a baron, but by the inhabitants themselves, for their own defence,' as was once stated. The liberty and castle of Penrith became the most important offices held by the
Neville family The Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a nobility, noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in Kingdom of England, English politics in the later Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in ...
in the fifteenth century, and their most important source of patronage locally. By 1441 and until 1444, Salisbury, who was then Warden of the West March, was sub-letting the lordship of Penrith to Lumley, bishop of Carlisle, and Professor A.J. Pollard has estimated that 'the Nevilles’ Penrith estates were worth approximately £350.’ Following Salisbury's death in 1460, Richard, Earl of Warwick, the 'Kingmaker,' inherited the Castle and Lordship, but was himself slain at the
Battle of Barnet The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV. On Sunday 14 April ...
without leaving a male heir, so they reverted to the crown. They were granted in 1471 to Richard, Duke of Gloucester by King Edward IV, who used Penrith as a base whilst 'taking effectual measures' against the Scots, and also 'enjoyed the revenues of the estates' of the Forest of Cumberland. It was at the same time that the duke was appointed sheriff of Cumberland five consecutive years, being described as 'of Penrith Castle' in 1478.


Later period

Following Gloucester's
usurpation A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...
of his nephew's throne and then his
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
(1483–85), the castle and the town remained part of the Crown Estate until the reign of
William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
, who gave it and most other Crown property in
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
to his friend
Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. ...
in 1696. The castle was sold by the Earls and Dukes of Portland to the
Dukes of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...
in 1787. They later sold it to the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway Company who built
Penrith railway station Penrith may refer to: Australia *Penrith, New South Wales, a satellite city of Sydney, Australia **Penrith Stadium, home ground of the Penrith Panthers **Penrith Bears, ice-hockey team **City of Penrith, local government area **Electoral district o ...
; its remains are opposite the railway station today. It later passed into the ownership of the Penrith Urban District Council, who in the 1920s converted the grounds into a public park and built housing nearby. The few ruins that remain today were described in the nineteenth century as not "very interesting in respect of their antiquity, or their present appearance." Also, very much as they stand today:
:The ruins are remarkable more for their extent than their magnificence: the chief objects of interest are the projecting
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s in the eastern front, which appear to have supported an open corridor; there are some large vaults, which were probably prisons. The walls, broken in many places, and intersected with remaining windows, assume, from different points of view, striking varieties of perspective scenery. After the great civil war, the edifice was dismantled, and part of the materials sold. The castle is maintained by
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 ...
, and is recorded in the
National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
as a designated 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 ...
.


See also

*
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 Penrith, Cumbria


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * *


External links


Visit Cumbria, Penrith Castle

English Heritage, Penrith Castle

The Cumbria Directory - Penrith Castle

Lake District Walks - Penrith Castle
{{English heritage cumbria Castles in Cumbria History of Cumbria Tourist attractions in Cumbria English Heritage sites in Cumbria Ruins in Cumbria Grade I listed buildings in Cumbria Grade I listed castles Penrith, Cumbria