Gleaston Castle
Encyclopedia
Gleaston Castle is situated in a valley about 0.5 km north-east of the village of Gleaston
, which lies between the towns of Ulverston
and Barrow-in-Furness
in the Furness peninsula
, Cumbria
, England.
around a roughly rectangular courtyard. The walls are made of limestone
quarried near the site, whilst details such as window and door surrounds are made of a soft red sandstone
, the origins of which are uncertain although it is similar to that used in the construction of nearby Furness Abbey
. The walls at the southwestern corner of the site have a clay
core, as is usual in castle construction, but elsewhere the core is the same shingle
mortar
used to face the walls.
of Aldingham
is said to have died at Gleaston in 1369. It is generally assumed that the castle was begun by his grandfather Sir John, 1st Baron Harington at around the time he was summoned to Parliament
in 1326. It is possible that part of the structure is earlier and was built as a defence against the Scots
who posed a serious threat to the area following Edward I's
campaigns and Robert Bruce's
assumption of the Scottish throne. The majority of the castle must surely have been built after the devastating 1316 and 1322 Scottish raids
on the area as it was built quickly and poorly, with poor quality local materials, suggesting a lack of funds. The castle also lacks the usual fortification
s: there was no license to crenellate granted, no gatehouse
or barbican
and there are no traces of a defensive ditch
or moat
so it could not have withstood a serious attack.
The castle was the main seat of residence for the Lords of Aldingham
until the death of William de Harrington, 5th Baron of Aldingham in 1457. The estate passed to William's daughter Elizabeth who had married William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville
of Shute
in Devon
and the title of 6th Baron Harington passed to their young son William. The Bonvilles made Devon their main seat of residence and Gleaston Castle was abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair.
William Bonville jnr died along with his father at the Battle of Wakefield
in 1460 and the castle fell to his newborn daughter Cecily, who later married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
. Eventually it fell to Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
who sold the castle and its adjacent demesne
land to his bailiff Walter Curwen before he was beheaded for treason in 1554, by which time it was in ruins. One of the southern towers may have been inhabited in the 16th century but by 1727 a farmhouse had been built adjacent to the southeastern tower. It appears Curwen sold the site to Thomas Preston, a local landowner, whose descendant Lord George Cavendish was probably responsible for creating much of the farm that can be seen today. Gleaston Castle Farm became an important asset to the Cavendish estate after the Industrial Revolution
made wheat
and barley
production highly lucrative. The farm was sold in 1920 to Thomas Barton Jackson of Bolton Manor, Urswick
and again in 1927.
Today the castle is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. The ruins
can be viewed from the roadside, but it is unsafe to enter the castle due to its state of state of disrepair. As of 2010, English Heritage
considered the property to be in a very bad condition and at risk of further deterioration; plans for remedial action were being discussed with the owners.
Gleaston
Gleaston is a village with a population of around 400 in the Furness area of South Cumbria, situated between the towns of Barrow-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston. The history of the village can be traced as far back as the mesolithic period and it was the centre of the manor of Muchland...
, which lies between the towns of Ulverston
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
and Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
in the Furness peninsula
Furness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England.
Structure
The castle consists of the remains four towers connected by curtain wallsCurtain wall (fortification)
A curtain wall is a defensive wall between two bastions of a castle or fortress.In earlier designs of castle the curtain walls were often built to a considerable height and were fronted by a ditch or moat to make assault difficult....
around a roughly rectangular courtyard. The walls are made of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
quarried near the site, whilst details such as window and door surrounds are made of a soft red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, the origins of which are uncertain although it is similar to that used in the construction of nearby Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness is a former monastery situated on the outskirts of the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North...
. The walls at the southwestern corner of the site have a clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
core, as is usual in castle construction, but elsewhere the core is the same shingle
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
used to face the walls.
History
The castle is first mentioned specifically in 1389, although Sir John de Harrington, 2nd Baron HaringtonBaron Harington of Aldingham
The title Baron Harington of Aldingham was created once in the Peerage of England. On 30 December 1324 John Harington was summoned to parliament...
of Aldingham
Aldingham
Aldingham is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It is situated on the east coast of the Furness peninsula, facing into Morecambe Bay, and is about east of Barrow in Furness, and south of Ulverston...
is said to have died at Gleaston in 1369. It is generally assumed that the castle was begun by his grandfather Sir John, 1st Baron Harington at around the time he was summoned to Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
in 1326. It is possible that part of the structure is earlier and was built as a defence against the Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
who posed a serious threat to the area following Edward I's
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
campaigns and Robert Bruce's
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
assumption of the Scottish throne. The majority of the castle must surely have been built after the devastating 1316 and 1322 Scottish raids
Wars of Scottish Independence
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....
on the area as it was built quickly and poorly, with poor quality local materials, suggesting a lack of funds. The castle also lacks the usual fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s: there was no license to crenellate granted, no gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
or barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
and there are no traces of a defensive ditch
Ditch (fortification)
A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders...
or moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
so it could not have withstood a serious attack.
The castle was the main seat of residence for the Lords of Aldingham
Muchland
Muchland is a medieval manor in Low Furness in the county of Cumbria in northern England. The manor was the seat of the Lords of Aldingham, and included at its peak the villages of Bardsea, Urswick, Scales, Stainton, Sunbrick, Baycliff, Gleaston, Aldingham, Dendron, Leece and Newbiggin...
until the death of William de Harrington, 5th Baron of Aldingham in 1457. The estate passed to William's daughter Elizabeth who had married William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville
Baron Bonville
The title of Baron Bonville was created once in the Peerage of England. On 23 September 1449, William Bonville was summoned to Parliament. On his death in 1461, the barony was inherited by his great-granddaughter Cecily Bonville, who two months before succeeded as Baroness Harington, with which...
of Shute
Shute, Devon
Shute is a village located west of Axminster in East Devon, off the A35 road.It is surrounded by farmland and woodland beneath 163-metre Shute Hill. St Michael's Church dates from the 13th Century and includes a large memorial to Sir Wiliam Pole...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and the title of 6th Baron Harington passed to their young son William. The Bonvilles made Devon their main seat of residence and Gleaston Castle was abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair.
William Bonville jnr died along with his father at the Battle of Wakefield
Battle of Wakefield
The Battle of Wakefield took place at Sandal Magna near Wakefield, in West Yorkshire in Northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses...
in 1460 and the castle fell to his newborn daughter Cecily, who later married Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset
Thomas Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and 1st Marquess of Dorset, KG , was an English nobleman, courtier and a man of mediocre abilities pushed into prominence by his mother Elizabeth Woodville's second marriage to the king, Edward IV.-Family:Thomas was born about 1455,...
. Eventually it fell to Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 3rd Marquess of Dorset, KG was an English nobleman of the Tudor period and the father of Lady Jane Grey.-Henry VIII's reign:...
who sold the castle and its adjacent demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
land to his bailiff Walter Curwen before he was beheaded for treason in 1554, by which time it was in ruins. One of the southern towers may have been inhabited in the 16th century but by 1727 a farmhouse had been built adjacent to the southeastern tower. It appears Curwen sold the site to Thomas Preston, a local landowner, whose descendant Lord George Cavendish was probably responsible for creating much of the farm that can be seen today. Gleaston Castle Farm became an important asset to the Cavendish estate after the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
made wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
production highly lucrative. The farm was sold in 1920 to Thomas Barton Jackson of Bolton Manor, Urswick
Urswick
The villages of Great Urswick and Little Urswick, together called Urswick, are located in the Furness peninsula in Cumbria, England. They are situated to the south-west of the town of Ulverston....
and again in 1927.
Today the castle is a scheduled monument and a Grade I listed building. The ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
can be viewed from the roadside, but it is unsafe to enter the castle due to its state of state of disrepair. As of 2010, English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
considered the property to be in a very bad condition and at risk of further deterioration; plans for remedial action were being discussed with the owners.