Egremont Castle

Performance Spaces

Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

Legend
map legend

Base layers

Data layers

Other Images

16th c. survey
18th c. view
Ground plan
Site of the hall
View from the E
View from the W
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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Egremont Castle
Location: Egremont
County: Cumberland
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location

Overview

Situated on a mound high above the River Eden, the sandstone castle commanded a ford and later a bridge in the medieval period. An earlier Norman castle stood N of the present ruinous site.

The square entrance tower, adjoining curtain wall and sections of the hall block remain. The great hall was on the upper storey level.

Performance History

Possible performance venue. Although household accounts for this branch of the Percy family do not survive, there is evidence that Thomas, 1st Baron Egremont, patronized entertainers who toured elsewhere. It is possible that they performed at Egremont for their lord.

Current Status

Ruins on public land. Open to the public at any time.

History of the Venue

ca. 1130--40 Motte and bailey castle built by William de Meschines.

early 13th c. Acquired by the de Multon family via marriage.

later 13th c. Thomas de Multon probably built the great hall, a round Juliet tower and inner gatehouse.

1315 Besieged by raiding Scots. Gatehouse partly rebuilt and curtain wall heightened.

1334 Egremont divided upon the death of John de Multon, 2nd Baron Multon, among his 3 sisters. There is conflicting information concerning which sister took possession of the Castle, and whether it continued to be used as a residence.

1449 Thomas Percy, 1st Baron of Egremont took possession of the Castle.

1496/7 John, 2nd Baron Egremont died without heirs. The Castle ceased to be used as a residence.

late 16th c. Castle dismantled and ruinous after the Northern Rebellion led by Leonard Dacre.

Record Source

REED York 1.67, 72, 77

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Percy, Thomas 1422-1460 1st Baron of

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Buck, Samuel, and Nathaniel Buck. [A Collection of Engravings of the Castles, Abbeys, and Towns in England and Wales]. 5 vols. London: The authors, 1726–52.
  • The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. 1887–98 (8 vols); 1910–59 (13 vols). 6 vols. Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1982.
  • Department of the Environment. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Np: Npub, nd.
  • Hugill, Robert. Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland. Newcastle upon Tyne: Frank Graham, 1977.
  • Jackson, W. 'A Sketch of the History of Egremont Castle.' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society os 6 (1883): 150–62.
  • King, David J. Cathcart. Castellarium Anglicanum: An Index and Bibliography of the Castles in England, Wales and the Islands. 2 vols. Millwood, NY, London and Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus International Publications, 1983.
  • Mackenzie, James D. The Castles of England: Their Story and Structure. 2 vols. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1896.
  • Perriam, D.R., and J. Robinson. The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria: An Illustrated Gazetteer and Research Guide. Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, es. Kendal: Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1998.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. Cumberland and Westmorland. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1967.
  • Somerset Fry, Plantagenet. Castles of the British Isles. New York: Dorset P, 1990.