Peveril Castle

Peveril Castle
Derbyshire
Peveril Castle from Cavedale
Location
Grid reference:	SK14948260
Location:	53°20’25"N, 1°46’38"W
Village:	Castleton
History
Information
Condition:	Ruins
Owned by:	Duchy of Lancaster (in the care of English Heritage)

Peveril Castle (also known as Castleton Castle or Peak Castle) is a ruined early mediæval castle overlooking the village of Castleton (which takes its name and its origin from the castle) in Derbyshire, within the Peak District National Park.

The castle stands sentinel on a limestone outcrop over the west end of Hope Valley, in the midst of an ancient landscape. On the north side of the valley is Mam Tor, on which is found a Bronze Age hill fort, and two miles to the east at Brough is the Roman fort of Navio. The valley formed a natural line of communication and had extra importance due to valuable mineral resources in the area, particularly lead.

Peveril was the caput of the Honour of Peverel, and was founded some time between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and its first recorded mention in the Domesday Book of 1086, by William Peveril, who held lands in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as a tenant-in-chief of the king. Nearby Castleton benefited from the presence of the castle, which acted as the caput of the feudal barony of "Peak". The town became the economic centre of the barony. The castle provides views across the Hope Valley and Cave Dale.

The castle is now owned by the Duchy of Lancaster and cared for by English Heritage. It and is protected as a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building.

History

From the Norman Conquest

The small Hope Castle lay halfway along the valley. The castle's founder, William Peveril was a follower of William the Conqueror and was rewarded for supporting him during the Norman Conquest. In 1068 King William granted Peverill the new castle at Nottingham and by the Domesday Book of 1086, Peveril had become a powerful landowner, with holdings in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The exact year he founded the castle is uncertain, although it must have been started by 1086 as it is recorded in the Domesday Book, one of forty-eight castles mentioned in the survey and the only one in Derbyshire. The castle was recorded as standing at Pechesers which has been translated as both "Peak's Tail" and "Peak's Arse". Although the earliest Norman castles were usually built in timber, Peveril Castle seems to have been designed from outset to be built in stone.

The Peak became an independent lordship under William Peveril's control, and the castle became an important centre of administration for the area, allowing the collection of taxes. Nearby Castleton benefited from the castle's new status and began to grow as the lordship's economic heart. @@

William Peveril the Younger inherited his father's estates in 1114. The unfortunate Peveril was caught up in the Anarchy, captured at the Battle of Lincoln. In 1153 he was suspected of attempting to poison Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester and accused of "plundering and treachery". Two years later his accuser, now King Henry II, confiscated his estates. Once under royal control, Peveril became the administrative centre of the Forest of High Peak. Henry visited the castle in 1157, 1158, and 1164, the first time hosting King Malcolm IV of Scotland, who paid homage to Henry after ceding Cumberland and Westmorland to the English king.. During the Revolt of 1173–1174, the castle's garrison was increased from a porter and two watchmen to a force led by 20 knights shared with the castles of Bolsover and Nottingham.

The Earls of Derby had a claim to the Peveril family's estates through marriage, and in 1199 William de Ferrers, the fourth earl, paid 2,000 marks for the Peak lordship although the castle remained under royal control. The closest Peveril Castle came to seeing battle was in 1216. King John died and the throne passed to his infant son. Control of the castle was granted to William de Ferrers, but the castellan, Brian de Lisle, refused to relinquish control, notwithstanding that both he and de Ferrars were on the same side in the Barons' War then reaching its final stages. The earl was authorised to use force to evict the castellan, and he eventually capitulated in 1217, although there is no evidence that the castle was assaulted. This is the closest the castle ever came to warfare.

Peveril Castle's 12th century keep

In 1223 King Henry came of age and de Ferrers was required to relinquish the castle to the Crown, which he did with much reluctance and negotiation.

In the 13th century there were periods of building work at the castle. Contemporary Pipe Roll records of expenditure at Peveril survive, they do not specify how the money was spent so it is unclear what constitutes maintenance and what marks substantial construction. By 1300 though its final form had been established.

King Henry gave Peveril Castle to Prince Edward (later King Edward I, along with the County Palatine of Chester with the royal holdings in Wales and Ireland. Some of the lands, including Peveril, were made part of Eleanor of Castile's dower, to come into her possession should her husband, Prince Edward, die. At this time, the Peak lordship was worth around £300 a year. At the outbreak of the Second Barons' War in 1264, Peveril Castle was occupied by Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, and later granted to Simon de Montfort, and recovered by the Crown after his death in 1265. In 1331 King Edward III gave the lordship to his wife, Philippa of Hainault. It was given to John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, in 1345. After its return to the Crown, the estate was given to John of Gaunt, King Edward III's third surviving son, partially in exchange for the Earldom of Richmond.

Having little use for the castle, John of Gaunt ordered some of its material to be stripped out for re-use, marking the beginning of its decline. From the time of John of Gaunt to the present day, the castle has been owned and administered by the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1374 John of Gaunt gave orders to strip the lead from the buildings for re-use at Pontefract Castle. When his son seized the throne as King Henry IV, it remained under the Duchy of Lancaster, which was maintained as a separate franchise of the Crown.

Peveril was left unmaintained. A survey in 1561 conducted for the Duchy revealed that Peveril was in a state of decay, and as a result along with Donnington was one of two castles that were subsequently abandoned. The castle however hosted local courts until 1600. A survey in 1609 found that Peveril was "very ruinous and serveth for no use". At one point, the castle was used to house animals.

Modern era

With the advent of the railways in the 19th century, the area became a tourist attraction. The Duchy of Lancaster undertook maintenance in the 19th century to ensure the castle's condition did not deteriorate further, mostly by clearing rubble and adding mortar. Sir Walter Scott's 1823 novel Peveril of the Peak, set in the mid 17th century, described the castle ruins.

In 1932 the Duchy gave custody of the castle to the Office of Works while retaining ownership. The site is today cared for by English Heritage, the successor to the Office of Works. The castle is a scheduled monument, of national importance. It is also a Grade I listed building. It has been described as "perhaps the finest mediæval landmark of the Peak District", and architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner remarked that it is "By far the most important castle in the county – in fact the only one of importance". Before Duffield Castle in the south of the county was destroyed in 1266 it had one of the largest keeps in England, though only the foundations survive.

Peveril Castle over Castleton

Layout

A plan of Peveril Castle

Museum reconstruction

Peveril Castle is roughly triangular in shape, about 295 feet by 213 feet, sitting on top of a hill overlooking the Hope Valley. The land slopes steeply away from the castle's perimeter, almost forming a sheer face to the south east, and the winding approach from the north marks the most practical approach to the castle. Not only was the site naturally defensible, but its prominence would have allowed the castle to be a highly visible symbol of the builder's power. The castle used the nearby town of Castleton to provide supplies. It commands views of Hope Valley below and Treak Cliff, Mam Tor, Black Tor, and Lose Hill. The castle was entered through the gatehouse to the east.

The design of Peveril's gateway was simple: 23 feet wide with a gatepassage 8 feet}} across. Little survives, although earlier drawings contain details of mouldings that suggest the structure was built in the 12th century, perhaps by King Henry II or John.

The curtain walls enclosing the castle bear testament to the multiple phases of construction at Peveril, with stonework from the Norman period – differentiated by the use of opus spicatum – to modern repairs. The walls were surmounted by walkways, which next to the gatehouse would have stood about 16 feet above the ground level immediately outside the castle. In the 12th century, a tower projecting less than 6 feet was added to the north wall. In the opinion of Eales, it "would have been of limited military value, compared with the boldly projecting towers of later castles" which allowed defenders to deploy flanking fire along the base of the walls. The land within the castle slopes downwards from west to east. Water storage would have been a concern for the garrison of the castle, but how they procured water is uncertain.

Part of the interior of the keep

The garderobe in the south-east face of the keep

The southern curtain wall is a modern replacement along the line of the mediæval wall. There are the remains of two round or semi-circular towers projecting from the wall. One survives to such an extent that it is possible to discern the use of Roman tiles in the construction, probably from the fort of Navio two miles away. It is uncertain when these towers were built, although it is thought they may date from the 13th century. Foundations mark the position of buildings abutting the south wall, probably the old hall and a chapel. A document from 1246 recorded a chapel at the castle; the remains of the easternmost building against the south wall are assumed to mark the site of the chapel as it is oriented roughly east–west.

Foundations at the west end of the north wall mark where a large building would have stood; given its size it was probably a hall where the lord of the castle would have eaten and entertained high-status guests. It is unclear when the new hall was built, probably replacing the old hall in the south of the castle, although an "old hall" was mentioned in a document of 1251, implying there was also a new hall by that time. The kitchen and food stores would have stood at the east end of the hall, although little remains of these structures. Buildings were also built against the west curtain wall, probably high-status apartments. Although the main approach to Peveril Castle was from the north, there was also a gate in the west. A bridge spanned the gorge, linking the castle with an enclosure on the other side. As it has not been excavated the exact form the enclosure took is uncertain. Its purpose is also a matter of speculation, whether it was an elaborate outer bailey for defence or used for storage and stabling.

The keep occupies the southern corner of Peveril Castle. Construction probably began in around 1176, instigated by Henry II. Its plan is square, measuring less than 39 feet square and the parapet is 49 feet above the keep's base; as the ground is uneven, on the other side it rises 34 feet above ground level. It is small in comparison to contemporary royal keeps such as those found at Dover and Scarborough Castles.

Today the exterior is coarse, but originally the facing would have been smooth; the south-east side, where the keep was protected from theft by the steep natural slope, gives an idea of how it once may have appeared. A projection in the south-east face of the keep housed a garderobe.

As was usual with Norman keeps, Peveril's was entered through the first floor and was accessed by a staircase. This entrance level would have been a large public room and the basement used for storage. A narrow staircase in the east corner allowed access to the basement and wall walk around the top of the keep.

Peveril's keep towers above its curtain walls

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Peveril Castle)

• Peveril Castle English Heritage
• Bibliography of sources relating to Peveril Castle
• 1909 plan of Peveril Castle's keep

References

• Brown, David (1979), Walter Scott and the Historical Imagination, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7100-0301-0 
• Brown, Reginald Allen (2004) [1954], Allen Brown's English Castles, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, ISBN 1-84383-069-8 
• Cathcart King, D. J. (1983), Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. Volume I, New York: Kraus International Publications, ISBN 0-527-50110-7 
• Creighton, Oliver (2002), Castles and Landscapes, London: Continuum, ISBN 0-8264-5896-3 
• Eales, Richard (2006), Peveril Castle, London: English Heritage, ISBN 978-1-85074-982-0 
• Friar, Stephen (2003), The Sutton Companion to Castles, Stroud: Sutton Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2 
• John Goodall (author) (2011), The English Castle 1066–1650, London: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-11058-6 
• Harfield, C. G. (1991), "A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book", English Historical Review 106: 371–392, doi:10.1093/ehr/CVI.CCCCXIX.371 
• Hull, Lisa (2008), Understanding the Castle Ruins of England and Wales: How to Interpret the History and Meaning of Masonry and Earthworks, McFarland & Co, ISBN 978-0-7864-3457-2 
• Jessop, Oliver; Beauchamp, Victoria (2015), Duffield Castle, Duffield, Derbyshire: a reappraisal, The JESSOP Consultancy, doi:10.5284/1031936 
• McNeill, Tom (1992), English Heritage Book of Castles, London: English Heritage and B. T. Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-7025-9 
• Milward, Roy; Robinson, Adrian (1975), The Peak District, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-413-31550-2 
• Pevsner, Nikolaus; Williamson, Elizabeth (1978) [1953], Derbyshire: Volume 8 of Buildings of England Pevsner architectural guides (2nd ed.), Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-071008-3 

Further reading

• Great Britain. Department of the Environment (1979). Peveril Castle. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-671466-2.