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Ruin

Danby Castle

England · 14th century

Founded
1302
Heritage status
Grade I listed building · scheduled monument
Location
Danby
Coordinates
54.4555°, -0.8952°
Open on the map →Wikipedia ↗
Danby Castle in England
Photo: Simon Armstrong · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Danby Castle is a historic building in Danby, North Yorkshire, a village in England.

The castle was first recorded in 1242, but it was in ruins by 1336, according to local tradition due to a fire and the reuse of its stone in constructing St Hilda's Church, Danby. The current building dates from the late 14th century, with some alterations to the south wing having been made in the mid and late 16th century. During this period, it may have been the home of Catherine Parr. Much of the building later fell into ruin, but part of the southern range was converted into a farmhouse, with a large cellar underneath and a courtroom on the first floor, formerly the great chamber.

The building was grade I listed in 1990. The castle is now a wedding venue, managed by The Gilchrist Collection. Danby court leet, the all male, baronial court whose origins were as a manorial court, but whose functions are now restricted to the management of common land, regularly meets in the courtroom.

The castle is constructed of sandstone with roofs of tile and pantile. It has a square plan with diagonally-projecting corner towers, linked by ranges around a courtyard. The courtyard originally had the great hall to its east, the kitchen to its north, and the main entrance to its west. The southeast corner has been converted and extended to form a farmhouse with two storeys and two bays, and to its west are farm buildings, including a two-storey barn and a single-storey cartshed.

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

In the rankings

Danby Castle ranks #6,660 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #353 of the 360 mapped in England. Founded 1302, it is older than 60% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 758 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Sunderland, 59 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

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