Pendragon Castle
| Pendragon Castle | |
|
Westmorland | |
|---|---|
 Pendragon Castle | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NY781025 |
| Location: | 54°25’3"N, 2°20’20"W |
| History | |
| Built 12th century | |
| Information | |
| Condition: | ruins |
| Owned by: | private |
Pendragon Castle stands in majestic ruin on Mallerstang Common, within the upper dale of the River Eden, south of Kirkby Stephen in Westmorland.
The castle is to be found close to the hamlet of Outhgill, in an atmospheric spot above a bend in the river, overlooked by Wild Boar Fell to the south-west and Mallerstang Edge to the east. It is a grade I listed building.[1]
Legend
According to legend, the castle was built by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, who is said to have unsuccessfully tried to divert the river to provide its moat, as is recalled in a well known local couplet:
Let Uther Pendragon do what he can,
Eden will run where Eden ran.
The origin of the legend seems to be in mediæval romance, in which legends of King Arthur, the hero king of the Dark Ages, were soon joined by all the tales that have come down to us today. One may wish the find in the story an echo of the real life amongst these fells of King Urien of Rheged, but the source of history runs dry, leaving only fables.
According to another local legend, Uther and many of his men died here when the Saxons poisoned the well (but other legends give St Albans as the location for his death). There are several other "Arthurian" sites in Lakeland, for example King Arthur's Round Table, near Eamont Bridge lower down on the River Eden.
History
Despite the legend (and the discovery of a Roman coin) there is no evidence of any pre-Norman use of this site. The castle was built in the 12th century by Ranulph le Meschin, 1st Earl of Chester, during the reign of King William Rufus. It has the remains of a Norman keep, with the later addition of a 14th-century garderobe turret, and some further additions in the 17th century.
One of its most notable owners was Sir Hugh de Morville, Lord of Westmorland – one of the four knights who murdered St Thomas Becket in 1170. A nearby high-point on Mallerstang Edge is named after him, as Hugh Seat. Another owner was Lady Idonea de Veteripont who, after the death of her husband (Roger de Lilburn), spent much of her remaining years living in the castle, until her death in 1334. Lady Idonea founded the church of St Mary in the nearby hamlet of Outhgill, ca 1311.[2]
The castle was attacked by Scots raiding parties in 1342 and again in 1541. After the latter attack it remained an uninhabitable ruin until it passed into the hands of Lady Anne Clifford.
Lady Anne Clifford was keen on the legend of Uther. She rebuilt the castle in 1660, also adding a brew house, bake house, stables and coach house. It remained one of the favourites among her many castles until her death in 1676 at the age of 86 years.
Lady Anne's successor, the Earl of Thanet, had no use for the castle and removed anything of value from it, including the lead from the roof. By the 1770s much of the building above the second storey had collapsed,[3] and it has since gradually decayed further to become the romantic ruin seen today.
The castle today
In recent years some of the rubble has been cleared, some consolidation of the crumbling walls has been undertaken, and a limited archaeological survey has been carried out by the Lancaster University Archaeological Unit[4] published in 1996.[5]
The castle is privately owned and on farmland. There is public access to the outside of the building, with a warning that the castle walls should not be entered. It appears that some remedial work has been carried out with the aid of a grant.[6]
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Pendragon Castle) |
- Pendragon Castle on Britain Express
- Mallerstang
- CastleXplorer
- Pendragon Castle on Yorkshire Dales: What to See
- Map
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1144890: Pendragon Castle
- ↑ Nicolson, Joseph; Burn, Richard (1777). W. Strahan y T. Cadell. ed. The history and antiquities of the counties of Westmorland and Cumberland. Londres.
- ↑ A Virtual Walk through Mallerstang, Part 2: North from Pendragon Castle accessed 13 April 2012
- ↑ English Heritage Historic Buildings and Monuments Grants accessed 13 April 2012
- ↑ Archaeological Research Framework accessed 13 April 2012
- ↑ Notice on site