Hornby Castle

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Overview

History

Bibliographic Sources

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18th c. view
Hornby Castle
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Venue Type & Location

Private Residence

Site Name: Hornby Castle
Location: Hornby Castle
County: Lancashire
Location Type: Countryside - at determined location

Overview

Situated in a commanding defensive position on a spur overlooking the River Wenning, a mile above its confluence with the Lune. An important route through the Lune Valley from Lancaster to Kirkby Lonsdale in Westmorland runs nearby.

Only the central keep of the original castle remains, towering above a handsome Victorian Gothic home constructed on the same site.

Performance History

Probable performance venue. Although there is no surviving evidence of entertainers patronized by the resident families performing at Hornby, members of the Hornby branch of the Harington family are known to have patronized minstrels on record elsewhere in the north in the 15th c. and there are numerous renaissance records of the Lords Monteagle sponsoring players touring Lancashire and other counties.

Current Status

Privately owned.

History of the Venue

13th c. Nevill family built a castle on the site. Later rebuilding revealed foundations of 2 round towers and the ancient keep, 36' across, probably from this period. An inner quadrangle in front of the pele tower led to an outer court extending to the edge of the town (Mackenzie, Castles of England 193).

1424 Sir William Harington of Farleton, Lancashire, acquired Hornby Castle and manor via marriage to Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert de Nevill the younger.

Late 15th c. Edward Stanley, 1st Baron Monteagle, acquired Hornby via marriage to Anne, daughter of Sir John Harington.

early 16th c. Edward Stanley added upper storeys to the original pele tower.

1581 Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley, acquired Hornby via marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of William Stanley, 3rd Baron Monteagle.

1584 A survey details a 5 1/2 acre orchard on the NE side; 1 1/2 acre garden on the SW; beyond on the same side an extensive deer park.

1617 James I visited Hornby Castle in August.

1643 Estates of the royalist Henry Parker, 6th Baron Monteagle and 14th Baron Morley forfeited and sold. Castle besieged and taken.

1663 Estate sold to the 2nd Earl of Cardigan after partial recovery by Thomas Parker, 7th Baron Monteagle and 15th Baron Morley.

late 17th c. Castle abandoned and ruinous.

1713 Estate sold by the 3rd Earl of Cardigan to Col. Francis Charteris who rebuilt in front of the tower, with gazebo added on top.

1789 Sold to John Marsden of Wennington.

1830s Estate acquired by a kinsman, Admiral Sandford Tatham.

1849--52 His heir, Pudsey Dawson, employing Sharpe & Paley of Lancaster, remodelled the 2-storey Georgian house in Gothic style.

1881, 1891 Further Gothic additions made by a later owner, William Foster, working with W. & R. Mawson of Bradford.

20th c. Later owners further adapted the house for modern use. The spiral staircase in the NW angle of the tower disappeared during this period ('Hornby Castle' 402).

Record Source

REED Lanc 171, 173, 185--6

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Harington, John 0-1460 Knight
Harington, Thomas 1400-1460 Knight
Parker, Edward 1551-1618 12th Baron , Baron
Parker, William 1574-1622 5th Baron , 13th Baron
Stanley, Edward 1460-1523 1st Baron
Stanley, Thomas 1507-1560 2nd Baron
Stanley, William 1528-1581 3rd Baron

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Baines, Edward. History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster. 4 vols. London: Fisher, Son & Co., 1836.
  • 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.
  • Fishwick, Lieut.-Col. 'The Old Castles of Lancashire.' Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society 19 (1901): 72–6.
  • George, David, ed. Lancashire. Records of Early English Drama (REED). Toronto, Buffalo, London: U of Toronto P, 1991.
  • 'Historical and Descriptive Account of Hornby Castle, near Lancaster, the seat of John Marsden, esq.' The Lonsdale Magazine and Kendal Repository 3 (1922): 401–4, 441–4.
  • 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.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus. Lancashire: The Rural North. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1969.
  • Robinson, John Martin. A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West. London: Constable, 1991.
  • Roper, William Oliver. 'Hornby Castle' Hornby Castle. Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire ns 5 (1889): 105–26.
  • Somerset Fry, Plantagenet. Castles of the British Isles. New York: Dorset P, 1990.
  • The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster. The Victoria History of the Counties of England. 8 vols. London: Archibald Constable, 1906–14.