Bewcastle Castle

Bewcastle Castle is a ruined castle in the parish of Bewcastle in the English county of Cumbria, a few miles from the Scottish border.

The first castle was built on the site of Bewcastle Roman Fort, around 1092. The castle is surrounded by a dry moat, the north and east sections of which re-use the Roman ditch. The castle was destroyed in 1173, but was rebuilt towards the end of the 14th century. It was decayed by the early 15th century when Edward IV granted it to his brother, the Duke of Gloucester, who later became King Richard III. The buildings were repaired and the gatehouse was possibly added at this time. From the late 15th century, the Musgrave family held the castle, and repairs were made in 1540s by Sir William Musgrave.

In May 1599, Henry Widdrington described how a football match had been arranged at Bewcastle as an occasion to capture the Armstrongs of Whitehaugh. The Armstrongs heard of the ambush and made a surprise attack. In 1602, Thomas Musgrave was accused by Lancelot Carleton to the Privy Council of harbouring thieves in the castle. They fought a duel at Canonbie Holm to settle the issue.

Bewcastle Castle was reputedly destroyed by Cromwell in the 1640s. The castle was in a state of ruin by the 17th century, and although much of the stone was removed for nearby buildings, much of the gatehouse with its internal garderobe still remains.

The element "castle" in the place-name Bewcastle probably refers to the Roman fort within which it was built, giving rise to the unusual repetition of the word in the castle name. However, the Ordnance Survey gives the name as Bew Castle.

Text adapted from “Bewcastle Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bewcastle Castle ranks #5,080 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #314 of the 333 mapped in England. Founded 1361, it is older than 56% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 604 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Newcastle upon Tyne, 69 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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