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Kendal Castle is a medieval fortification to the east of the town of Kendal, Cumbria, in northern England. The castle, which is atop a glacial drumlin, was built in the 13th century^[1] as the Caput baroniae for the Barony of Kendal. By the 15th century, the Parr family owned the castle.

History

The castle was built in the late 12th century as the home of the Lancaster family who were Barons of Kendal. The best-known family associated with the castle was the Parr family; including Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Her family had lived at Kendal since her ancestor Sir William Parr (c. 1350–1405) married the heiress of Kendal, Elizabeth Ros, during the reign of Edward III of England. By the time Catherine Parr was born, the family had long deserted the castle which was already falling into disrepair. Catherine's father Sir Thomas Parr preferred to live in the centre of court in London. Her grandfather Sir William Parr (1434–1483) seems to be the last of the Parrs to have lived at Kendal Castle.^[2] Queen Catherine Parr was once thought to have been born at the castle; however, modern research has shown that it was in great disrepair by the 16th century and she was most likely born in Blackfriars, London.^[3]^[4]

The Parr family had their properties, including Kendal Castle, confiscated by the Crown in 1566.^[5]

Notable visitors

Poet John Keats visited the ruins on a walking tour of the Lakes in the summer of 1818. He and his companion, Charles Brown, stayed the previous night at Endmoor. They then walked on to Windermere.^[6]

Layout

The castle is roughly circular, and is bounded by an 26-metre (85 ft) wide ditch. The curtain wall was roughly circular, with three mural towers unevenly spaced around the circuit, and a gatehouse on the north side of the castle; in the interior, to the east of the entrance was a hall with a tower further to the east. An assessment by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England in the first half of the 20th century suggested that the hall was built int he 14th century.^[7]

Investigation and preservation

A small excavation led by J. E. Spence and involving pupils from Heversham Grammar School was carried out on the site of the gatehouse in 1951.^[8] Barbara Harbottle led excavations at the castle in 1967–69 and 1971.^[9] A geophysical survey was carried out at the castle in 2001 and identified a possible ditch.^[10]

The site, which is open to the public, is maintained and managed by Westmorland and Furness Council. On 1 April 2023, Local Government Reorganisation merged South Lakeland District Council, Eden District Council and Barrow Borough Council with Cumbria County Council to form a new unitary authority for the area.

References

^ "Kendal Castle". Kendal Town. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
^ Linda Porter. Katherine, the Queen, Macmillan, 2010; p. 21.
^ Farrer, William; Curwen, John F., eds. (1923). "Kirkby in Kendale: 1453–1530". Records relating to the Barony of Kendale. 1. Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. Record series. IV. British-history.ac.uk. p. 54.
^ James, Susan (2009). Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love (hardback). Stroud: The History Press. pp. 60–63. ISBN 978-0752445915.
^ "Kendal Castle and associated earthworks, and earlier ringwork, Kendal - 1008901 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
^ "John Keats Walks the Lakes". The Keats Letters Project. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Kendal | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
^ Spence, J. E. (1951). "Excavations at Kendal Castle". Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. 51: 185–187. doi:10.5284/1062721.
^ Quartermaine, Jamie (1995). Kendal Castle, Cumbria: Fabric history documentary survey (Report). Lancaster: Lancaster University Archaeological Unit.
^ "Land at Kendal Castle". Archaeology Data Service. Retrieved 30 September 2024.