KENDAL CASTLE

'Kendal Castle' is situated on a mound-like hill, known as a drumlin, to the east of the town of Kendal, Cumbria, in northern England. ().
It was probably built in the late 12th century as the home of the Barons of Kendal. The best known family to live there were the Parrs, including Katherine, the 6th wife of Henry VIII.
The building has been a ruin since Tudor times but imposing stonework remains are still present. The site is freely accessible to the public. It is managed by the South Lakeland District Council.

Contents

References

References

★ Kendal Castle 1

★ Kendal Castle 2

★ Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. ISBN 0-7153-7976-3
1066 was a particularly bad year for the English. The country went through three kings, and by the morning of October 15th 1066, was under Norman rule. Edward the Confessor, who had ruled since 1042, stated on his death bed that Harold, the Earl of Wessex, should be king when he died. The crown passed to Harold in January of 1066 when Edward finally passed away.
Nine months later, Harold, after defeating his brother Tostig, and the Norwegian forces of King Harald Hardrada at the battle of Stamford Bridge, marched his army south to meet the threat of an invasion from the Normans headed by William, Duke of Normandy. On the 14th of October, Harold marched his army onto the battle field at Hastings, to face the fresh Norman invasion force. In the ensuing battle, Harold and his brothers died, and the country fell under Norman rule with the coronation of William I on Christmas day 1066 finishing off a turbulent year.
As soon as William had the country at his feet, he set about consolidating his rule by rewarding his generals and those who had supported him with their military might. One of those who was richly rewarded in lands and titles was Ivo de Taillebois. Ivo was granted great swathes of land throughout the Northern reaches of England, in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria. It's likely that Ivo was responsible for building Kendal's first castle.the motte and bailey at the top of Beast Banks, in around 1092. This fortification is thought to have been built on the site of a Roman signal station, and overlooks the town from the West. With the lands, came the title of (First) Baron of Kentdale. Ivo also has connections with Kirkby Lonsdale's motte and bailey castle on Ruskin's Brow and towns right across the North.
At some point between 1183 and 1241, building commenced on the site at the top of Castle Hill. Whatever the early fortification looked like, it eventually evolved into the castle, or the remains, that we see today. There may have been some overlap between the existence of the two castles. It's unlikely that the motte and bailey of Castle Howe was directly replaced by Kendal Castle..more likely that the two existed side by side for some period of time. Castle Howe was probably the baronial centre of Kirkland or Cherchebi as it was previously known, the earliest part of Kendal that had grown up around the parish church before the Norman invasion, with Kendal Castle as the baronial centre of the post-Norman part of the town referred to as Kirkby Kendale. At some point however, Castle Howe fell into disrepair, and the building, wooden or stone disappeared. Kendal Castle, in all its magnificent glory, stood over the town; with the promise of protection should the restless Scots decide to attack. And in around 1210 they did..probably laying waste to much of the town, and pursuing the population into the parish church in Kirkland. The legend surrounding this story has us believe the raiding bands of Scotsmen, then set about massacring the sheltering townsfolk as they sheltered in the church.
Kendal castle was probably built by Gilbert Fitz Reinfred, Baron of Kendal, possibly in response to the threat of Scottish invasion. Gilbert was imprisoned after rebelling against King John, and documents tell us that the castle in Kendal was surrendered to the king as part of the ransom demanded for this transgression. Some twenty five years later, in 1241, the castle was returned to Gilbert's son, William de Lancaster. These documented events are usually taken to be the first reference to the new castle in Kendal. From here on in, the castle appears to have become the centre of the town's fluctuating fortunes for the next few hundred years.
The castle has had a number of owners' throughout its 820 year history. From the Barons of Kendal, through the Andertons, Huggins, Dowkers, the Cavendish-Bentinck family, right through to Kendal Corporation and finally, and to this day, South Lakeland District Council. Each owner has had a varying degree of contact and affect on the castle.some owners building and extending the castle, repairing its fabric and using it as a home and an administrative centre, others letting it decay and fall down, and others still, consolidating its walls and buildings for the enjoyment of the town.
The Barons of Kendal, starting with Gilbert Fitz Reinfred in 1184, held the castle through until 1571, Sir William Parr, brother of Katherine Parr, Earl of Essex and Marquis of Northampton being the final Baron. The last 181 years of the existence of the Barony of Kendal, are dominated by the famous name of the Parrs. The Parr family had graced themselves by supporting the Yorkist king Henry VI during the Wars of the Roses. William Parr was a noted peace negotiator, employed by Edward to secure peace between the English crown and King James II of Scotland, and John Parr was Sheriff of Westmorland. In 1471 the two brothers held the Barony of Kendal and the majority of the Barony of Westmorland between them. It is during this time, that the two brothers may have been responsible for many of the building projects and alterations that took place at the castle in Kendal. Indeed, it's also possible, that by 1466 the castle had cost the family so much that William Parr was deeply in debt. He was forced to sell family possessions to raise funds to continue running the castle.
In around 1468, as the Wars of the Roses raged, Edward IV's fortunes were wavering, and William Parr placed the Barony of Kendal and its possessions including the castle into trust for his sons. The Parrs deserted the North and moved to Leicestershire.
John Parr died in 1475, and his brother William inherited his share of the Barony of Kendal. William now had the whole of the Barony under his control. William moved back to Kendal in 1476, and set about making yet more changes to the castle. At this time, William was becoming more involved in the King's court, and it wasn't long before his responsibilities in London caused him to move his household yet again back to the South. He left in 1483 and never returned. This was to be the last time that the head of the Parr family visited their holdings in the North West. The estates and the castle were, from this point on, managed by a steward. William Parr died in 1483, and is buried in Kendal Parish Church. His tomb is rather ingloriously tucked away in a corner and surrounded by chairs.
William's granddaughter, Katherine Parr is undoubtedly the most famous member of the Parr family, and her connection with Kendal is unquestionably strong. However, the local legends that she was born in the castle and lived here are most likely untrue. Katherine was born around 1512, but not in Kendal or the castle. There's not even any evidence that she even set foot in the castle, and possibly not even in the town itself. Katherine would most likely have been based nearer to London with her family..and some reports of the time even state that the castle was already falling into a state of disrepair by this time.
Kendal's connections with King and country extend beyond the ancient Ivo de Tailbois, and even beyond Katherine Parr's marriage to Henry VIII. In 1553, Katherine's brother, William, Marquess of Northampton, backed the succession of Lady Jane Grey over that of Mary I to the throne. Lady Jane was executed nine days after her claim, and William Parr was imprisoned until Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1583.
In 1571, the castle and the Barony of Kendal were passed to the Crown, in return for lands further south. The castle at this point was in an even deeper state of ruin. A survey in 1572 stated that the castle is "all being in decay..and in all other reparations needful." A further report of 1575, states that some of the slates had been removed from ruined buildings within the castle walls for safety reasons, and in 1578, the Royal Receiver Edward Bradyll visited the castle. He came away with some bad news on the value of the buildings. In his opinion, the castle was in such a state of disrepair, that is was worth a mere £25 or thereabouts!! He observed that most of the buildings were utterly ruined, that most of the timbers were rotten and fallen and that most of the lead and slate had been stolen. In February 1579, he managed to sell what was left. For the castle buildings, he got the sad sum of £79. For the sale of the remaining timber, iron and glass, he managed to raise another £59, and for the remaining lead a paltry £20. The remains were described as "ready to drop down".
The Barony of Kendal was no more, William Parr being the last person ever to hold the title.
Little is known about the castle through the 17th century. It probably stood over the town, slowly decaying further. A map by John Speed, dated 1610 shows the castle, but with some archaeological inconsistencies. The map shows the castle orientated incorrectly, and with eight towers along its walls, whereas the current remains only indicate six. The map depicts the curtain wall as complete and intact, along with the standing towers. Whether this is accurate or not I'm not sure. Thomas Machel's map, dated 1692, also shows the castle intact.a full curtain wall surrounding standing towers and buildings, including that of the gatehouse which is now all but gone and forgotten.
An engraving of the castle dated 1739, appears to show various aspects of the castle as remarkably intact. The engraving, by the Buck Brothers, shows the hall with some intact windows, the North West round tower with battlements, a turret and windows, the curtain wall running eastwards from this tower is shown as remaining to a great height albeit with some damage at ground level and the South tower is also shown as being fairly intact up to the battlements although fallen masonry is depicted in the foreground. Some of the curtain wall is shown as fallen into the moat, as is a portion of the remains of the gatehouse.
During the 18th century, the castle was used to graze sheep, and at some point a certain amount of landscaping was done to enhance its use as a picnic site. What damage was undoubtedly done one can only imagine, but the castle was probably systematically robbed of stone during this period, for building etc. This is evidenced by the fact that there is little or no rubble within the castle walls. The castle was regularly used as an exercise ground for the local militia.
In 1813, work was done to strengthen some of the structure of the castle, and it was at this point that some of the more damaging repairs' were made. Holes were filled, masonry removed, stones cemented in place, with the result that it has become extremely difficult, in some instances, to see what is real' archaeology. Trees were planted on the West side of the ditch, and the curtain wall was patched up. Unfortunately, the repairs to the outer face of the curtain wall were completed with stone from the inside. It's likely that the thinner modern wall was erected on the footings of the original curtain wall at this time. The intentions were undoubtedly good and well meaning, but the castle has probably suffered.
In 1897, the castle was purchased from its last private owners, the Bentinck family by the Kendal Corporation. The grounds of the castle were opened as a public park to celebrate the Diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. Prior to this new lease of life, the castle's antiquity seems to have been largely ignored. It was a ruin on the hill, and nothing more. In the late 1930's, the castle was surveyed as part of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England.probably the first survey of the site since the late 1570's!!!
It wasn't until the early 1950's that the castle underwent its first archaeological excavations. Some small scale digs were organised by JE Spence, a local school teacher from Heversham. However, the largest investigations to date were organised between 1967 and 1971, when the gatehouse, the hall block and the curtain wall and moat were excavated in small sections. In 1996 and 1997, portions of the hall block were investigated further, to mark the centenary of it's acquisition by the council.
So there you have it. The castle has remained pretty much unchanged since the end of the 19th century. A few small repairs have been made here and there, pieces of fallen masonry have been removed over the years, the vegetation has been cut back from the ruins, and access has been improved with the addition of information boards by South Lakeland District Council. The castle has had a pretty unremarkable history, but remains to this day a town's icon.
Kendal Castle is Kendal town's third major fortified site (not including pele towers and lesser mottes) The first site was the Roman fort at Watercrook on the edges of the town. The second site was the motte and bailey castle of Castle Howe......and the third and most impressive is the castle itself.
The castle splits the town in half, with the majority of the town to the West along with the river Kent, and a large chunk of the town's housing developments to the East. Castle hill, upon which the remains sit, forms part of a drumlin field formed after the glaciations of the Lakeland fells. The almost tear shaped hill lies on a North South axis, with the masonry remains at the South end of the drumlin. It is here that the slopes are at their steepest.
The castle remains are now a scheduled monument, with the remaining stone masonry, and possibly an outer bailey to the North of the castle incorporated into the protected area. This bailey area is roughly circular in form, and is about the same size as the internal area of the castle remains. The castle was once the centre of a much larger medieval park, with mills at the foot of the castle to the North West, and parkland to the East. Much of this land is now occupied by housing, industry and cemeteries.
Today the castle is a familiar Kendal landmark, being visible from much of the town. It is a recognisable town icon, being used on company signage and tourism literature alike. The castle is visited by many tourists each year, and the local population use it daily.
There are a number of important standing remains at the site, many of which are readily identifiable. The best footpath to take is from Aynam Road, along Sunnyside Street and into Parr Street. From here, the footpath enables you to approach the castle remains from the South West, presenting good views of the castle walls as you climb the steep slopes from Parr Street.
From this approach, the first piece of the castle that you see are the remains of the South Tower. This was probably an additional entrance to the castle, otherwise known as a Postern. There are good examples of posterns (defensible entrances or breaks in a wall) in York, and other fortified towns and cities. This entrance would have allowed easy access from the town below and also from the parish church over the river. This portion of the castle is probably one of the earlier parts of the structure, and has even been described as an early keep.
Walking North now, and keeping the castle to your right, a portion of curtain wall joins the South Tower with the remains of a half round drum tower. This small tower would undoubtedly have served as a guard post or lookout. All that remains of this structure now, is the semi circular wall jutting out from the curtain wall. Inside the castle, the drum tower is hardly visible at all, although substantial curtain wall remains can still be seen.
Between the drum tower and the next tower, none of the curtain wall exists above ground. The remains of the footings can just and so be seen below the turf.
Continuing North again, and still keeping the castle to your right, the next structure is the round North West tower. This tower perhaps best demonstrates the thickness of the curtain wall, as on its South side, there is a large portion of this structure jutting out from its walls. At this point, it would appear that the wall was around five or six feet thick, and that's not taking into account any extra width that may have existed at its base. The tower summit can now be accessed thanks to a metal staircase that has been affixed to the exterior. From the top floor of the tower, the guard robe can be seen, a fireplace is still in situ, and the base of a spiral staircase can be seen, indicating that another floor would have existed above this one. From the exterior of the castle, the guard-robe shut can still be seen.
Moving round to the front of the castle from here, you come to the site of the gatehouse. In drawings dating from around 1500, this structure would have been a spectacular double towered building....typical of a medieval gatehouse. All that now remains is a fallen piece of masonry now half way down into the moat, and a small piece of wall to your right as you enter the castle courtyard. Excavations of this portion of the castle show that there was a cobble floored guardroom or storeroom set into the curtain wall, probably accessed from within the castle via a doorway running through the wall itself. The earthen causeway, that now provides easy access to the courtyard, hides the remains of the stone bridge that would once have spanned the moat.
Following the path round, and still keeping the castle to your right, brings you to the largest part of the remains. This building would have been a combination of storage, living chambers, kitchen and buttery in the vaults beneath, and Hall block. The remains are a rough collection of original stonework and repairs spanning many years. The Hall Block would have provided most of the living quarters for any inhabitants of the castle, including the Baron and his family. This building would most likely have been used for the administration of the Barony of Kendal. The walls are around 1.45 metres thick in places. This building would have been the most changed portion of the castle....with pieces added and changed over the course of a few hundred years. The North wall of the Hall block would have served as a continuation of the curtain wall around the castle.....hence the lack of windows in the outside wall. Looking up at the interior of the Hall block, a doorway and passageway can still be seen, leading into the Guard-robe tower. Originally these two buildings would have been separate, but were joined together at some point. The Guard-robe tower, from the outside of the castle, is a huge four-storied structure with no windows except the remains of one high up on the fourth floor. It probably formed part of the original castle. The small chutes in the wall were probably for the disposal of waste and toilet refuse....falling to the moat below.
As you look at the Guard-robe tower from the outside, the wall to its left, built of lighter coloured stone, is probably only a hundred years old or so. It is only a foot or so thick, but sits on top of the foundations of a much grander wall which can still be seen beneath the turf.
Continuing around the outside of the castle is a wall that was probably built in the 18th or 19th centuries. This portion of curtain wall joins the Guard-robe tower and Hall block to the South Tower. It's built on top of the footings for what was probably the original curtain wall, but is really just a field wall with no defensive qualities at all.
The castle is surrounded on all sides by a deep and steep sided moat. To the East of the castle, the moat would have provided an adequate barrier between the castle and the outer bailey. To the West, the moat enhances the steepness of the drumlin upon which the castle is built. Excavations suggest that the moat was probably the first defensive structure on the hill. This would suggest that the castle was originally built as a ring work structure, or even a motte and bailey. Small pieces of 12th and 13th century pottery have been recovered from the moat, further adding weight to the argument that this was the earliest part of the castle. It's possible that the moat was dug out first to provide a defensive exterior to the site, whilst the curtain wall was erected. It's therefore possible that the portion of the castle outside the walls to the North of where the gatehouse would have been, could have been the bailey. This roughly circular area of land, included in the listed status of the castle, has never been excavated, so it's impossible to determine if this was the case. The moat would have been a dry moat (there are no sources of water to fill it) and would most likely have been used as a rubbish tip, and sewer.
Entering the castle across the causeway, takes you into the inner courtyard. This now empty area would most likely once have been filled with timber buildings. Timber doesn't age or weather well over the centuries, so there are no remains visible. Just inside the gatehouse, and to the left, a huge stone building platform lies beneath the turf. It's most likely that this structure would have formed the base for a large staircase that would have provided access to the Hall block and the Guard-robe tower.
To the right, and visible on aerial photos, a large rectangular mark can be seen in the turf. It's probably the footings or foundations of a large building.
The well on the East side of the castle would have been the only source of water for the inhabitants in the event of a siege.
The stone vaults that now sit beneath the Hall block and the Guard-robe tower were later additions.....slotted underneath the buildings to provide kitchens, a buttery and no doubt storage.
One of the main buildings in the courtyard would have been the castle's chapel. It's believed that this probably stood alongside the curtain wall on the East side of the courtyard. The foundations may exhibit themselves today as the turf covered ridges that can still be seen. This building has never been excavated.
The next instalment will continue with some history of the families that lived in the castle, and its demise and eventual ruin.

★ Kendal Castle Virtual Tour