Linstock Castle

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

Farmhouse, formerly a tower house. C12 or early C13 as palace for the Bishops of Carlisle, with C17-C20 additions and alterations. Tower has 3 storeys, built of large blocks of red sandstone, mostly from Roman Wall nearby, for walls 2m thick; slate gabled roof. Close to the castle are the remains of the encircling moat. Used as Bishops Palace c1219-early C14, then as prison and refuge for villagers in border raids. For 6 days in March 1307, Edward I, his Queen and Court were entertained here, whilst Parliament was held in Carlisle.

This site has been described as a;
Palace
Tower House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

listed building

Images of England

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY42895848

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 11417

Books

Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p84
Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p172
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p72
Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p48 [slight]
Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p72
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p88
Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p122-124
Pevsner, N., 1967, The Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth, Penguin) p139
Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p298-9
Wilson, 1912, Rose Castle (Carlisle)
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol2 p321
Taylor, M.W., 1892, The Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (CWAAS extra series Vol8) p342-3

Journal Articles

Bennet, J., Herne, A. and Whitworth, A., 1987, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol87 p81
Graham, T.H.B., 1912, 'Extinct Cumberland Castles' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol12 p187-94

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

William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/cumbeng.html#cumb20]

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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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