Gleaston Castle
| Gleaston Castle | |
|
Lancashire | |
|---|---|
 Gleaston Castle's ruined north-west tower | |
| Type: | Enclosure castle |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD261714 |
| Location: | 54°7’59"N, 3°7’57"W |
| Village: | Gleaston |
| History | |
| Built 14th century | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | Ruin |
| Owned by: | Private |
Gleaston Castle is a mediæval ruin in a valley about half a mile north-east of the village of Gleaston, on the Furness Peninsula of Lancashire. The village and its castle stand between the towns of Ulverston and Barrow-in-Furness.
The castle has a quadrilateral plan, with a tower at each corner. The largest of these, the north-west tower, probably housed a great hall.
The castle was most likely built for John Harington, 1st Baron Harington in the 14th century, replacing nearby Aldingham Motte. Gleaston Castle descended through the Harrington family until 1458 when it passed to William Bonville through marriage and was subsequently abandoned. The castle passed to the Grey family until Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk was executed for treason in 1554. As a result, Gleaston Castle became royal property before it was bought by the Preston family in the 17th century, and then passed to the Cavendish family.
As the castle was disused from the mid-15th century it fell into dilapidation, and antiquarian depictions from the 18th century show Gleaston in a state of ruin. Though it is not open to the public, it has been the subject of historical and archaeological investigation in the 20th and 21st centuries.
History
From the 12th century the manor of Muchland was administered from Aldingham Castle. Muchland became known as Aldingham manor and in 1291 it came into the ownership of the Harrington family. In the 14th century, Scots attacked the Furness peninsula during the wars of the Middle Ages, and around the same time coastal erosion threatened Aldingham Motte. These factors may have led to the Harrington family’s abandoning Aldingham and establishing the administrative centre of the manor at the newly built Gleaston Castle, though the construction work could have been the result of their growing social status,[1] and they may have needed more room for a greater number of servants.[2]
The castle was probably built for John Harington, 1st Baron Harington (b. 1281–d. 1347).[3] Gleaston Castle is first mentioned in 1389, although John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington is said to have died there in 1363. In 1415 John Harington was granted a papal indult for a private chapel and a portable altar for mass. It is likely, however, that the castle would have had its own chapel before this date.[2]
The Harington family owned Gleaston Castle until William Harington, 5th Baron Harington died in 1458. The castle and barony then passed to William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington through marriage. He died in 1460 and the castle passed to Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, again through marriage. It is likely that around this time Gleaston Castle was abandoned.[3] In 1540, the antiquarian John Leland noted "there is a ruine and waulles of a castell in Lancaster-shire cawlyd Gleston Castell sometyme longinge to Lord Harrington now to the Marquis of Dorset", and other antiquarians provided descriptions of the site.[3]
When Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk was executed for treason in 1554, his property was forfeit to the Crown. In 1671 Thomas Preston, 3rd Baronet Preston bought Aldingham manor which included Gleaston Castle. The property descended through the Prestons to the Cavendish family.[3] The castle is now part of an active farm which dates from the 19th century: the farm buildings incorporate some of the fabric of the castle. The Prestons owned the castle until 1922 when it was sold to the current family of owners.[4]
According to a 1905 document from the local Archive Centre, up to four human skeletons were discovered at the castle in the 19th century when the farm buildings were built.[5]
An engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck from 1727 is one of the earliest depictions of the castle, with later depictions from antiquarian William Close (1805), artist William Green (1809), and Edwin Waugh (1860). The Buck brother’s engraving showed the castle in a state of ruin, and Waugh's depiction in particular shows that from the mid-19th century the castle has remained in a similar state of ruin up to the present.[6][7]
Preservation and investigation
Gleaston Castle is now a Grade I listed ruin,[8] and a scheduled monument.[9] The ruins can be viewed from the roadside, but it is unsafe to enter the castle due to its state of repair. The castle is on Historic England's 'Heritage At Risk' register: its condition is described as "very bad" and "deteriorating".[10] Since the late 20th century there have been efforts to preserve the site: in 1998 the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit conducted an assessment of the standing building for further research and whether it would be possible to open the building to the public, but Historic England notes that "no agreement was reached regarding a scheme of consolidation"[10][11][12]
The castle's precarious condition meant that the structure was not fully recorded until 2015, when the Morecambe Bay Partnership with funding from the Castle Studies Trust commissioned Greenlane Archaeology to carry out an aerial survey of the site.[13] As well as producing a visual record of the castle from which elevations and plans could be derived, it identified features within the castle which could be buildings which no longer survive. In 2016 the University of Central Lancashire undertook a geophysical survey, using it as training for archaeology students and volunteers. The survey indicated there was formerly a garden to the north of the castle, and timber structures within the castle.[14]
Architecture and layout
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Gleaston Castle was abandoned, perhaps around a century after its construction. As a result, the standing remains are an example of 14th-century architecture which has not been adapted by later occupation. The remains consist largely of limestone, which was quarried locally, while sandstone was used for doors and windows.[15] The sandstone may have been recovered from a beach two miles from the castle as there is no local source of sandstone.[16] This method of using red sandstone for architectural details can also be seen at Piel Castle on Piel Island off Barrow-in-Furness.[17]
The castle was a walled enclosure 240 feet long north and south, 120 feet wide at the south end and 150 feet wide at the north end. It had four corner towers, dressed with red sandstone.[2] The north-west tower measures 85 feet by 120 feet and is 40 feet tall at its highest point. It survives as three portions of standing masonry. The ground slopes, and is higher at the north end than the south. The south-west tower measures 33 feet by 31 feet, and the four-storey 62-foot tall tower has a large vertical crack in the west wall. The south-east tower measures 31 feet by 43 feet and survives to a height of 39 feet. The north-east tower is mostly collapsed, with earthworks, though some of it may survive in the modern farm buildings.[18]
The western curtain wall is ten feet thick, and in parts is 30 feet tall. It has a ruined bastion midway between the north-west and south-west towers. To the east the wall has been partly incorporated into the modern farm buildings, preserving some of the masonry to a height of 13 feet, while in the north and south the wall no longer survives above ground.[19]
Landscape
Gleaston Castle is about half a mile northwest of Gleaston village, on the Furness Peninsula.[20] John Harrington was given a licence to create a 600-acre park in Aldingham manor and, while its location is uncertain, it may have been east of the castle. It is likely that the manor’s mill was also close to the castle, allowing the Harrington family to control an important local economic resource. According to Greenlane Archaeology, establishing how the castle related to the wider landscape has been identified as a future research priority.[21]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Gleaston Castle) |
- Gatehouse Gazetteer: Gleaston Castle
- Study of Gleason Castle by the Castle Studies Trust
- 3D survey of Gleaston Castle from 2015
References
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 19–20
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gibson 1977, p. 22
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 22–23
- ↑ Emmott, Matthew (15 September 2006), Gleaston Castle, http://www.matthewpemmott.co.uk/2006/09/gleaston-castle-aldingham.html, retrieved 24 March 2017
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, p. 9
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 23–25
- ↑ Farrer & Brownbill 1914, pp. 320–328
- ↑ National Heritage List 1312114: Gleaston Castle
- ↑ National Heritage List 1013966: Enclosure castle known as Gleaston Castle
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Historic England 2016, p. 29
- ↑ Historic England, Gleaston Castle, Furness Peninsular: Project code: 7774. Archaeological feasibility study carried out for the mediæval castle site, Archaeology Data Service, http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/browser.jsf, retrieved 25 March 2017
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, p. 10
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 8–11
- ↑ Martin, Louise: '| Gleaston Castle': Castle Studies Trust, 14 September 2016
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 16, 43
- ↑ Kendall 1906, p. 184
- ↑ Newman 1986, p. 66
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 26, 34–37, 41
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 33, 37, 39, 41
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 6–7
- ↑ Evans & Elsworth 2016, pp. 20–21, 55
Books
- Helen Evans and Daniel Elsworth: 'Gleaston Castle, Gleaston: Results of Aerial Survey and Conservation Statement' - Castle Studies Trust, 2016
- The parish of Aldingham - A History of the County of Lancaster - - 328 Volume pp 320 - 328: {{{2}}} (Victoria County History)
- Gibson, Leslie Irving (1977), Lancashire Castles and Towers, Dalesman Books
- Heritage at Risk: North West Register 2016 – Historic England
- Kendall, W. B. (1906), "Gleaston Castle", Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society 6: 184–190, http://archive.org/stream/transactionscum06collgoog#page/n229/mode/1up
- Newman, Rachel: Piel Castle Survey and Excavations, 1983–1985': Contrebis, 1986, vol 12 (pages 64–67)