| Armathwaite Castle | |
|---|---|
| Armathwaite, Cumbria, England | |
 Armathwaite Castle | |
| Coordinates | 54°48′20″N2°46′12″W / 54.8055°N 2.7701°W |
| Grid reference | grid reference NY506459 |
| Type | Converted Pele tower |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Private |
| Site history | |
| Materials | Stone |
Armathwaite Castle is in the village of Armathwaite, Cumbria, England, by the River Eden. Originally built to defend against Scottish raiders in the 15th century, it was converted into a mansion and today is a Grade II* listed building. [1]
Armathwaite Castle was built in the 15th century on a strong point along the west side of the River Eden by the Skelton family. Although the precise date of its construction cannot be ascertained it was most probably constructed by John Skelton in 1445. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The Skelton family appears to have been a well known family, being the representatives of the county and the city of Carlisle at the parliament. The castle was a four-storied pele tower with the facade constructed from hewn stone and protected the Eden valley from Scottish raiders. The castle estate also includes a Benedictine nunnery called Nun's Close. The founder of this nunnery is now known, with some sources naming William Rufus, while other disagreeing and stating that he founded a religious house at the nunnery, not the nunnery itself. [3] [5] [7] [6] [8]
The Skeltons resided at the castle till 1712, when Richard Skelton sold the castle to William Sanderson. Robert Sanderson Milbourne (1660–1741), inherited the castle from his brother in 1727. [7] Robert was assistant to Thomas Rymer in preparing the massive 20-volume Foedera (a compilation of treaties between England and foreign states from 1066 to 1654), [9] and he made the castle the centre of a collection of antiquities and relics. It passed to the Milbournes and in 1846 onto William Lowther, the 2nd Earl of Lonsdale. [10] It was reported in 1892 that the castle had fallen into disrepair. In the early 19th century the castle was converted into a mansion, faced with ashlar cut stone in a classical style, with an adjacent wing for offices. [4] [5] [11]
Today the castle is privately owned. [12]
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, with a population of 3,048 at the 2011 Census. Crossed by the River Eden, Appleby is the county town of the historic county of Westmorland. It was known just as Appleby until 1974–1976, when the council of the successor parish to the borough changed it to retain the name Westmorland, which was abolished as an administrative area under the Local Government Act 1972, before being revived as Westmorland and Furness in 2023. It lies 14 miles (23 km) south-east of Penrith, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of Carlisle, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Kendal and 45 miles (72 km) west of Darlington.
Thomas Rymer was an English poet, literary critic, antiquary and historiographer.
Ainstable is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria. Historically part of the traditional county of Cumberland, it is now in the unitary authority area of Westmorland and Furness.
Penrith was a rural district within the administrative county of Cumberland, England that existed from 1894 to 1974 with slight boundary changes in 1934.
Hesket is a large civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, on the main A6 between Carlisle and Penrith. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,363, increasing to 2,588 at the 2011 census, and estimated at 2,774 in 2019. The parish was formed in 1894 with the passing of the Local Government Act 1894 and was enlarged to incorporate the parish of Plumpton Wall following a County Review Order in 1934. Hesket is part of the historic royal hunting ground of Inglewood Forest. Settlement in the parish dates back to the Roman occupation.
Plumpton or Plumpton Wall is a small village and former civil parish, in the parish of Hesket, in the Westmorland and Furness district, in the traditional and historic county of Cumberland but now in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, England. It is about 4 miles (6 km) north of Penrith. In 1931 the parish had a population of 320.
Inglewood Forest is a large tract of mainly arable and dairy farm land with a few small woodland areas between Carlisle and Penrith in the English non-metropolitan county of Cumbria or ancient county of Cumberland.
The River Caldew is a river running through Cumbria in England. The river rises high up on the northern flanks of Skiddaw, in the Northern Fells area of the English Lake District, and flows in a northerly direction until it joins the River Eden on the north side of the city of Carlisle.
Armathwaite is a village in the English ceremonial county of Cumbria.
Calthwaite is a small village in rural Cumbria, England, situated between the small market town of Penrith and the larger city of Carlisle. It is within of the civil parish of Hesket and the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, but historically part of the traditional county of Cumberland. It has a population of around 100 people. In 1870-72 the township had a population of 269 and a railway station.
Armathwaite Nunnery was a Benedictine nunnery in Cumbria, England. It was situated near the confluence of the rivers Croglin Water and Eden in the southern angle of the parish of Ainstable, and was first known as the nunnery of Ainstable.
Scaleby Castle is in the village of Scaleby, Cumbria, England. The castle was originally built in the early 14th century, and extended in the 15th century to form a substantial fortification. Parliamentary troops attacked the castle twice during the English Civil War, burning it. It was later restored to form a country house.
Hesket is a civil parish in the Eden District, Cumbria, England. It contains 65 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade II*, the middle of the three grades, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The parish is largely rural, and contains the villages of High Hesket, Low Hesket, Armathwaite, Plumpton, Calthwaite, Southwaite, and smaller settlements. Most of the listed buildings are houses and associated structures, farmhouses and farm buildings. The Settle-Carlisle Line of the former Midland Railway passes through the eastern part of the parish, and two viaducts on the line are listed. Two of the buildings originated as tower houses or fortified houses, and have since been extended into country houses. The other listed buildings include churches and items in the churchyards, a chapel, public houses, a former water mill, a well head, bridges, a monument, a war memorial, and three boundary stones.
Tarn Wadling was a lake between Carlisle and Penrith, near the village of High Hesket in Cumbria, England. In the Middle Ages, it was famous for its carp, but it was drained in the 19th century, and is now no more than a depression. The name remains today in a small woodland governed by the Woodland Trust.
Castle Hewen was a Romano-British castle near High Hesket, in the civil parish of Hesket, in the Eden district, in the county of Cumbria, England. It overlooked the now-drained Tarn Wadling, and was supposedly occupied by Owain mab Urien. All that remain, as at 2023, are earthworks.
Armathwaite Castle.
Armathwaite Castle.
