Gleaston Castle from the Air | VIDEO

The romantic ruins of Gleaston Castle are well known in Furness but take to the air and the site takes on a new dimension...

Back in 2013 we took a look at the fascinating, if sometimes unclear, history of Gleaston Castle. Now, some 5 years on, it was time to revisit the site from a different perspective - from the air.

In this short video you can see a variety of aerial shots taking in the splendour of this medieval ruin and the area it sits in:

Video footage Copyright © Furness Hidden Heritage 2018, all rights reserved.

The ruin is sadly in bad repair, as is made evident from the large cracks that can be seen rising up through several of the walls, but it still forms quite the impressive structure. Three of it's four towers are still standing proud, with door ways and windows often still intact.

It can be hard to get a real sense of what this castle once looked like or how it once was used but this video at least gives a new perspective on the ruin and shows just some of its former majesty.

Built by Monks, Dalton Castle

Standing proud overlooking Dalton, the ancient capital of Furness, is the small but impressive pele tower known as Dalton Castle.

The monks of Furness Abbey built the castle in the 14th Century as a manorial courthouse for Furness. This is where the abbot exercised his right to hold courts and administer justice, as authorised in the abbey's foundation charter from 1127. The building held the courtroom, rooms for the lordships business, guardrooms, stores and several dungeon rooms.

The building also acted as a defensive structure against the possibility of Scottish attack. The tower has several statues sat upon its roof, statues of archers and armed men. These were to give the impression that the site was protected and had several men at arms. This would then deter any attackers, or at least that was the theory.

The inside of the castle has changed much over the centuries since its completion in the 1300s but it still retains several of its original features. For example the spiral staircase leading up from the garderobe and several dungeons dug in beneath the floor. Unfortunately other original rooms have been lost to time, especially after a radical alteration in 1856 when the upper floors were removed for a single room and new staircase.

The outside has changed a fair amount also. Several building were built onto the front of the castle over time from shops to a solicitors office, later used as the town hall. All these building have long since gone only leaving faint reminders of their presence with sandstone lines across the walls where the buildings may once have attached.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s the castle remained as a court for over 300 years, owned by a variety of different people including the crown and three dukes. Eventually the Duke of Buccleuch gave the castle to the National Trust who still own it today. The building is run by the Friends of Dalton Castle with the direction of the National Trust and is open on Saturday afternoons throughout the summer months. Take a look on the NT website for more info.

This quaint little pele tower is a wonderful piece of history standing on the streets of Dalton. It can be seen from many parts of the town, often dominating the skyline and is well worth a visit. It may be small but it holds a huge amount of history and although not open often it will certainly be worth making the effort to see inside.

Once you have you can always pop down the road to see St. Mary's Church or even further to see the Pinfold which we took a look at in a previous post.

A Hidden Manor House and Medieval Tower, Broughton Tower | Life in the Past Series

Set back from the village of Broughton-in-Furness, hidden by trees, stands the interesting and suitably impressive Broughton Tower.

Currently private flats Broughton Tower started life as a 14th Century pele tower, much like those found in towns like Dalton-in-Furness. The tower, much like many others, was erected to defend against the ever growing possibility of Scottish attacks. Something that was a common threat at this time as the Scots were performing constant raids on England. In the picture above you can see the original pele tower, with its typical crenelated Medieval style, in the centre of the large complex of buildings.

Much like the castle at Dalton the tower was most likely used as a manorial court, a place where local disputes and wrong doings could be brought in front of the monorail lord and brought to a conclusion. The tower even as a dungeon which could be used to hold wrong doers before further punishment.

The tower was constructed by the Broughton family, Lords of the Manor of Broughton. They stayed in the town until 1487 when Sir Thomas Broughton was killed in the battle of Stoke. Thomas had allied himself with Lambert Simnel and fought against the Kings men for him. On his death his seat at Broughton was seized by the crown and given to the 1st Earl of Derby.

Some hundred and seventy years later the 7th Earl of Derby was executed for his allegiance to Charles II. It was then, in 1658, that the tower and the seat was passed to the Sawrey family. They kept ownership of the tower until the 1920s. The Sawreys, during the 18th Century, turned the tower into a manor house. A grand extension was added to the original 14th Century tower creating a much larger and impressive structure, the structure we can see today.

The whole site was turned into flats in recent times, which are now in private ownership. This means that the historic site is off limits for any visitors but you can walk along a public footpath through a nearby field and be rewarded with great views of the structure, including the original 14th Century tower.

The manor house and original tower are a real piece of hidden heritage, tucked away out of sight behind the small town of Broughton, and is a real treat to stumble across!

Ruined Walls of a Medieval Fortification, Gleaston Castle

On the road out of Gleaston, having past the water mill, a castle expands out from a farm yard into an adjoining field. This is Gleaston Castle, a structure erected sometime around the 13th Century.

The Castle is generally believed to have been started in the mid 13th century by John De Harrington I, who was a descendant of Michael Le Fleming the first Norman to settle in the area. He constructed the south west tower and part of the west wall. It was not until 1325, 28 years later that he or his son, John De Harrington II, continued construction at the Castle. This work was completed around 1340 and the De Harrington family took residence here for 118 years. It is in 1457 that William de Harrington, the last lord of Aldingham and Muchland, died and the castle was passed on. Eventually, by marriage, the castle passed to Thomas Grey, great grandfather of Lady Jane Grey, future Queen of England. In his ownership the castle fell into a state of decay and was a ruin by 1540. At a later date when the castle was in the ownership of the Preston's one of the South towers was made habitable for the family to live in until the early 1600s. Following this the Castle had many varying owners until being bought by a local farming family, the Websters, in 1926. The family still owns the Castle today and their farm sits right next to the ruins.

The Castle is set out with four tower buildings at the corners of four curtain walls. It, in a lot of ways, is much like your typical children's play set castle, if not quite as extensive. Gleaston Castle was never fully completed which may suggest its need as a fortification became obsolete. It is suggested that the Castle was built in reaction to the Scottish wars that were taking place at the time. Many castles were erected across Furness and Cumbria during this period including Dalton, Piel, Broughton, Millom and Sizergh Castles. Gleaston was probably built to replace an earlier castle that had been overwhelmed by the Scots. It is entirely possible that the Castle was built to replace the mote and bailey castle at Aldingham (which we will look at in a future post) that would have been of wooden construction. A new stone castle would have been a lot stronger and more able to withstand a Scottish attack. Also the positioning at Gleaston may have been more defendable than at Aldighman. Obviously this is purely conjecture on our part but it is reasonable to believe. With the Scottish Wars and raids not lasting particularly long the castle may have become redundant before even being finished, thus being left incomplete. As stated above the Castle was made fit for habitation in certain areas by later owners but as a working fortification it was unfinished.

Earlier we mentioned Thomas Grey, father of Lady Jane Grey, being in ownership of Gleaston Castle. Well it is thought that Lady Jane Grey herself visited the Castle not long before becoming Queen of England! The circumstances of her visit and if she really did are unclear but it is certainly nice to think that she may have. In the present day the Castle is in a very ruinous state with most of its curtain walls missing and it's towers being empty shells. It is hard to imagine the Castle today as it would have looked when it was fresh. The southern towers are the best preserved but the north western tower is slowly crumbling away and the north eastern has completely disappeared. Even being in such a dilapidated state the Castle certainly has a romantic and aesthetically pleasing look to it. The ruined walls with the ivy growing up them makes for some lovely photographs, even if the ivy won't be helping the structure in the long run. Although  it may be holding it together for now.

Gleaston Castle is unfortunately not open to the public as it is on private land but you can see it well from the road leading past it. You can easily find the Castle by foot or by car, head to Gleaston then head north past the water mill towards Scales and you will find it as you go. The Castle is a wonderful relic of a time gone by and is quite lovely to see. If you get the chance to venture past it take a moment to stop and look, think of its past and the people who once lived and visited here!

The next instalment of Furness Hidden Heritage will be released earlier than usual on Monday 23rd December. The blog will then go on a break over Christmas and will return on Tuesday 7th January.

Engraving by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck 1727.

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