Kirkoswald Castle

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

Norman motte and bailey castle destroyed by the Scots in 1314, was heavily rebuilt around 1317 as an irregular Northern quadrangular castle. Greatly expanded c 1485, with a deep ditch being added and the residential apartments being totally remodelled. Abandoned after Rising of the North and it was dismantled between 1610 and 1688. Today the chief piece of masonry remaining is the stair tower plus a few other pieces of curtain wall. The visible building remains were constructed in c1320. The earthwork remains are still visible. The moat is still extant and water-filled. Hugh de Morville received a licence to crenellate his manor house here in 1201; although Kirkoswald moated site (qv) is a suggested alternative site for the licence.

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.

A Royal licence to crenellate was granted in 1201.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 2 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 73491)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY55954100

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 12421

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 2821

• Web site links
  • http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/kirkcas.htm
• Books
  • Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p124
    Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p68
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p43
    Cope, Jean, 1991, Castles in Cumbria (Cicerone Press) p67-8
    Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p67-8 [plan]
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p87-8
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p249
    Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p112-3
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker) p218
    Pevsner, N., 1967, The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth, Penguin) p150
    Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p150-53
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p318-20
    Taylor, M.W., 1892, The Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (CWAAS extra series Vol8) p262-71
    Lysons, D. and S., 1816, Magna Britannia Vol4 Cumberland p. cciii-ccvi, 128 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=404]
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p43
• Journal Articles
  • Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p321
    Graham, 1912, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol12 p164-80
    Taylor, M.W., 1874-5, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol2 p1-10
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rotuli Chartarum 89
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p97