Penrith Castle

OS Grid ref:- NY 516302

The imposing red sandstone ruins of Penrith Castle, or the 'Castle of the Kings' as it was once known, dates from the medieval era. The building is now in the care of English Heritage. Work on the castle was begun in 1397 by William Strickland, later Bishop of Carlisle, in response to the Scots burning Penrith, Strickland was granted a licence to crenallate his chamber and mantlet.

The Red Tower was added in the early fifteenth century by the influential Ralph Neville, first Earl of Westmorland. The Nevilles rose to prominence in the north in the late Middle Ages. One of the castle's keepers was to be his more famous son, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who became known to history as 'Warwick the Kingmaker'. From 1471 Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard III, during his time as his brother Edward IV's Lieutenant of the North , added a new gatehouse and extensive lodgings around the courtyard.

The castle suffered damage during the Civil War when it was used by the Parliamentarian General Lambert and eventually passed into the hands of the Dukes of Devonshire.

Only the weathered curtain walls and towers of the structure now stand to any height, although its moat still remains. The castle has been in ruins for the past four hundred years. It dominates Castle Park, which is Penrith's main leisure area and stands oppposite the railway station.