Greystoke Castle is in the village of Greystoke west of Penrith in the county of

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

in northern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. (). It is owned by the

Howard family The Howard family is an English noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has of ...

and is a private residence including a castle and family estate with no public access.

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In 1069, after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

the English landlord Ligulf de Greystoke was re-granted his land and he built a wooden tower surrounded by a pale (or pele). The first stone structure on the site was built in 1129 by Ivo, his grandson. The building grew to become a large pele tower and in the 14th century after William de Greystoke obtained a royal licence to castellate it, the castle was further enlarged. In 1571 the castle was in the ownership of

Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1536 or 1538 2 June 1572), was an English nobleman and politician. He was a second cousin of Queen Elizabeth I and held many high offices during the earlier part of her reign. Norfolk was the s ...

and

Earl Marshal Earl Marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

of England through his marriage into the Dacre family, who had been the previous owners. The Howards were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s and Royalists and as a consequence during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the castle was laid waste by Parliamentarians under General Lambert in 1648. The castle was enlarged and altered in 1789. Then between 1838 and 1848, the castle was rebuilt to a design by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on Middle Ages, medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations, such as those of the ...

, incorporating the older structures including the pele tower, and the estates were developed by Charles Howard into a modern farm. In 1868 the house caught fire and many treasures and works of art were lost. However, the castle was rebuilt under Henry Howard, again by Salvin. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the army requisitioned the castle and estate as a tank drivers' training area. The castle itself became a

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

. Consequently, much damage was done to the building and the estate during this period. In 1950 Stafford Howard, the son of Sir Edward Stafford Howard, inherited the estate and began a further restoration period. It is now managed by his son, Neville.

Sources

''Greystoke Castle''. Visit Cumbria.''History and Heritage''. Greystoke Castle official website.
*Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. {{coord, 54.66999, N, 2.87757, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NY435309), display=title Castles in Cumbria Peel towers in Cumbria Country houses in Cumbria + Grade II* listed buildings in Cumbria Greystoke, Cumbria

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See also

Sources