Clitheroe Castle

Clitheroe Castle is a ruined early medieval castle in Clitheroe in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It was the caput of the Honour of Clitheroe, a vast estate stretching along the western side of the Pennines.

Its earliest history is debated but it is thought to be of Norman origin, probably built in the twelfth century. Property of the de Lacy family, the honour later merged with the earldom and then Duchy of Lancaster. Given to George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle in 1660, the castle site remained in private ownership until 1920, when it was sold to the people of Clitheroe to create a war memorial. Today the buildings on the site are the home of Clitheroe Castle Museum.

The keep is the second smallest surviving stone-built keep in England. The castle was listed as a Scheduled Monument on 10 April 1915 (and later, under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 law). It was Grade I listed on 19 May 1950.

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

Clitheroe Castle ranks #3,195 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #213 of the 333 mapped in England. Founded c. 1200, it is older than 77% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 564 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,684 times in the last 60 days, more than 62% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Manchester, 46 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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