Muncaster Castle
Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the Esk river, about a mile east of the coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumberland. It is designated as a Grade I listed building.[1]
History
The placename "Muncaster" contains the Latin word castra, meaning "encampment", or "fort". It is suspected that the site of the castle stands on foundations dating to the Roman era, which, if they exist, may represent a castellum for the nearby Roman fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass.
Muncaster Castle is owned by the Pennington family, who have lived at Muncaster for at least 800 years. The Muncaster estate was granted to Alan de Penitone in 1208. The oldest parts of the castle include the Great Hall and the 14th century pele tower, a type of watch-tower fortification unique to the Middle Shires.
Between 1860 and 1866 Anthony Salvin extensively remodelled Muncaster Castle for the Barons Muncaster.[2]
Features
Muncaster has beautiful gardens including features designed to take advantage of views of the Esk Valley and the mountains.[3]
There is an owl sanctuary and a maze.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Muncaster Castle) |
- Muncaster Castle
- Gatehouse Gazetteer record for Muncaster Castle, containing a comprehensive bibliography
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1068780: Muncaster Castle
- ↑ Emery 1996, p. 232.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1000669: Muncaster Castle Gardens
- Emery, Anthony (1996), Greater Mediæval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500, Volume I: Northern England, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521497237