Venue Type & Location
Overview
A fortified pink sandstone tower house on the S side of the River Eamont, close to the junction of the medieval route from York to Carlisle and the main road N from Kendal.
Regarded as one of the finest fortified manor houses in the country, Yanwath has 3 of the 4 wings of the courtyard remaining.
Performance History
Probable performance venue. No Dudley household records survive but entertainers under the family's patronage performed elsewhere in the late 16th c./early 17th c.
Current Status
History of the Venue
1322 Pele tower built by John de Sutton.
15th c. 2-storey hall range along the S built by the Threlkeld family.
1520 Thomas Dudley acquired the estate through marriage to Grace, daughter & coheiress of Sir Lancelot Threlkeld of Threlkeld. Hall block partly rebuilt and enlarged.
Late 16th c. Hall subdivided horizontally, with the original roof visible only on the upper level. E side of E range and N and S walls of kitchen rebuilt; N wing built.
1654 Property purchased by Sir John Lowther from Thomas Dudley's son Christopher.
1671 Lowthers took possession of the house, now ruinous.
Record Source
REED Coventry 310; Cumb/Westmld/Glouc 69
Patrons who owned this venue
| Name | Date | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Dudley, Edmund | 1543-1614 | |
| Dudley, Thomas | 0-1623 |
Bibliographic Sources
- Curwen, John F. The Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North-of-the-Sands. Kendal: Titus Wilson, 1913
- Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996--2006
- Hugill, Robert. Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland. Newcastle upon Tyne: Frank Graham, 1977
- 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
- Machell, Thomas. Manuscripts of the Reverend Thomas Machell, vicar of Kirkby Thore (d 1698). 5 vols. Np: npub, nd
- 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. Kendal: Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 1998 29: - Pevsner, Nikolaus. Cumberland and Westmorland. Harmondsworth, Midd: Penguin Books, 1967
- Robinson, John Martin. A Guide to the Country Houses of the North West. London: Constable, 1991
- Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England. An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Westmorland. London: HMSO, 1936
- Simpson, W. Douglas. 'Yanwath Hall.'. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society ns 44 (1945): 55--67.
- Somerset Fry, Plantagenet. Castles of the British Isles. New York: Dorset P, 1990
- Taylor, Michael W. 'Yanwath Hall, Westmorland.'. Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society os 1 (1867): 48--59.
- Tipping, H. Avray. English Homes: Period I -- Vol. 1 Norman and Plantagenet 1066--1485. 9 vols. London: Country Life, 1921 vol 1: