Shank Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; waikelli; Shanke

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

Tower, built about 1600, of roughly squared and coursed rubble. The building had four floors, the first floor contained the principal living rooms and the main entrance door. Later used as a farmhouse and later still as a store. It was described as ruined in 1816 and was demolished in 1951/2, owing to the dangerous state of the fabric. This was large and late for a pele tower and is better described as a tower house. Possible marked 'waikelli' on 1590 map and as a tower 'Shanke' on 1607 platt.

This site has been described as a;
Tower House.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Nothing visible remains.

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY46957045

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 11679

Books

Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (CWAAS) p242
Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern) p88
Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carel Press) p87
King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p90
Hugill, R.,1939, Borderland Castles and Peles p170
Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal) p395
Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
Taylor, M.W., 1892, The Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (CWAAS extra series Vol8) p351 [slight]

Journal Articles

Rigold, S.E., 1954, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol54 p144-151
McIntire, W.T., 1922, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol22 p162-8
Graham, T.H.B., 1909, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol9 p217

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