Published at 15:35, Wednesday, 14 July 2010

BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful would be an accurate description of this property. The castle lies only a few miles from Kendal, amid 14 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, a water garden and a lake. SOME ‘Castles’ are in effect follies, or “copy-castles”, built centuries after the eras of the genuine castle-builders, and not designed to withstand sieges or warfare; their prime purpose appears to be that if gratifying the whims of the land-owning aristocracy and to display signs of their wealth, power or influence. Some of them are described below.

Henry II was the first owner of the lands surrounding Sizergh and he gifted them to Gervase Deincourt in the 1170s. A Deincourt heiress married into the Strickland family in 1239 and they took possession of the property. The Strickland family has inhabited Sizergh for more than three-quarters of a millennium, and though Sizergh is administered by the National Trust, the family still reside there.

Sizergh began as a 60ft Pele Tower built in the 14th century. Unusually, it had four storeys instead of the standard three.

The walls were 9ft thick, the ground floor room being barrel-vaulted and the turret was reached via a spiral staircase.

A Great Hall was added to the Pele Tower in 1450. Further improvements followed through the ages, as Tudor and Elizabethan features were incorporated in the form of two additional wings with towers.

The entrance is via a castellated gateway; indeed the Towers added to the original Pele Tower building all have battlements. In effect Sizergh can be described as a fortified mansion.

Some very high quality wood panelling, now restored, decorates the wings and five oak chimneypieces in the castle are reputed to be among the best in England.

Although there is no record of warring involving Sizergh, culturally it has much to offer in the way of fine Elizabethan and French furniture and artefacts, portraits etc., on display. There are also to be found some relics of the Jacobite Rebellion.

Sizergh is reputed to be haunted by a lady ghost, whom, legend has it, was locked in her room by her husband and left to starve. It is said her ghost can, on occasions, be heard screaming.

AUGILL CASTLE

NEAR both Brough and Kirkby Stephen, this ‘castle’ arose from a feud between two brothers, both out to best the other in their accomplishments. Augill was built in 1841 by John Bagot Pearson to flaunt this accomplishment in the face of his younger brother. It had all the accoutrements of a genuine castle: towers, battlements, and mullioned windows. The interior has the atmosphere of a country house which, in effect, it is. Augill Castle is now a hotel.

HAYTON-EDMOND CASTLE

DESIGNED by Sir Robert Smirke and built between 1824-1829, near Hayton, Carlisle, this was built in the Tudor style with an ashlar face. Once the home of the Graham family of Edmond Castle, it became in turn an approved school and a country house hotel.

LOWTHER CASTLE

ALTHOUGH a monument to one man’s vanity, in this case Sir Hugh Lowther, the 5th Earl, and another piece of ‘schmaltz,’ the skeleton of the now gutted castle is certainly impressive. Designed by Sir Robert Smirke, Lowther Castle was his first commission, in 1806, at just 25 years old. His remit was to design a building of elegance and strength. Following completion, the Lowthers (Lonsdales) used the castle to entertain many important statesmen and heads of state, including Kaiser Wilhelm before the Great War. The maintenance costs must have been enormous and, eventually, they became too much for the profligate Sporting Earl (also known as the ‘Yellow Earl’ because those were his racing colours) and thus its eventual demise was assured.

Although the Castle was dismantled in the 20th century, following the death of the fifth Earl, steps are currently being taken to carry out restoration work.

TOPPIN CASTLE

THIS is actually a Grade II listed farmhouse, built in the 19th century and replicating a Tower House (Pele Tower) with battlements. It is sited near Warwick Bridge

WHITEHAVEN CASTLE

SIR John Lowther’s House, now locally known as ‘The Castle’ was built on the Flatt Walks with a view looking straight along the main throughfare, Lowther Street, towards the Harbour. The house came into his possession in the 18th century, and was then known as ‘The Flatt.’

It was a fine-looking building and, with adjoining parkland, was the most important property in the area.

Financial problems contributed toward the Lowther family selling the property which became a hospital, then a home for the aged sick and finally, was sold to developers for erection of prestigious apartments, the purpose it serves today.

Published by http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk