Hayes Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Hay; Hayescastle; Aykerist; Aykhurst; Dykhurst

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

Castle, originally comprising a square plan tower house on a motte with a curtain wall and moat. The moat survives on the north and west sides, but only the north wall of the tower house remains on the motte. The present name is probably a corruption of Aykhurst, Robert de Leyburn being granted a licence to crenellate in 1322 to strengthen his dwelling house at Dykhurst with a wall of stone and lime. All that remains is a raised platform and part of the stone built curtain wall on the north. This stands to a height of approximately 6m covered with foliage on its south face, and in ruined condition. The western and parts of the south and eastern walls can be traced within a grassy bank 0.3m high. It has a good defensive position on all four sides. There are no signs of internal structures.

This site has been described as a;
Masonry Castle
Timber Castle.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 76118)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY00122257

Sources of information, references and further reading

Books

Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS)
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p58
Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses Vol1 (Cambridge) p263
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p48 [slight]
Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p59-60
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p86
Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p279-80
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p315
Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 pt2 p408

Journal Articles

1925, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol25 p351
Collingwood, W.G., 1923, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol23
Wilson, J., 1916, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol16 p29-39 [history and identification with Aykhurst]

Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)

Calendar of Patent Rolls (1321-24) p82

Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cumbeng.html#cumb5]

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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