Castle How, Sowerby

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Sourebi

In the civil parish of Castle Sowerby.
In the historic county of Cumberland (Modern Authority of Cumbria, 1974 county of Cumbria).

Ovegrown motte and bailey. Possibly the castle of Sourebi mentioned in 1186-7. Castle How Motte is the probable site of Castle Sowerby which is mentioned in the pipe rolls of Henry II. It would have been dismantled before 1237 when the manor of Castle Sowerby was assigned to the King of Scotland. According to King the castle may be an unfinished work. Perriam & Robinson write not thought likely to be a castle site on the balance of evidence presented. Isolated from settlement but in forest land and possibly intended as a hunting lodge.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Possible.
Earthworks remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY36053840

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 10457

Books

Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p198
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p37
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge)
Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p45
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p83
Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p315
Sowerby, R., 1954, Historical Castle Sowerby and Mid Cumberland p26-7
Jefferson, S., 1840, History and Antiquites of Leith Ward p138

Journal Articles

Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
1923, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol23 p240
1922, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol22 p114-21
Graham, T.H.B., 1912, 'Extinct Cumberland Castles' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol12 p183-7

Most of the sites or buildings recorded in this web site are NOT open to the public and permission to visit a site must always be sought from the landowner or tenant

The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations.

It is an offence to disturb a Scheduled Monument without consent. It is a destruction of everyone's heritage to remove archaeological evidence from any site without proper recording and reporting. Don't use metal detectors on historic sites without authorisation.

Please help me to make this as useful a resource as possible by contacting me if you see errors or if you can add information.
I do acknowledge the help I get with this site.

¤¤¤¤¤