Pendragon
Pendragon is an odd castle site with little known early history
beyond the fantastic tales concerning its building by Uther Pendragon,
the fictional father of King Arthur. As per normal, Wikipedia
adds more gibberish fable to the story of the castle stretching from
prehistory to the modern day. The late medieval tales of Uther
seem to be based on Leland's recording of the chronicle of John Hardyng
(d.1464). Of this Leland recorded:
Uther Pendragon builded a castel cawlled Pendragon.
This was taken from Hardyng's nonsense that King Uther of Britain bore
the heraldic arms of a dragon as had been borne by such worthies as
Brutus of Troy, King Lucius, King Constantine and the Emperor
Maxentius. These were the arms of St George ‘which all
Englishmen now worship'. Because of this Uther's people are
alleged to have called him Pendragon, in Brythonic, the head
dragon. After assuming this epithet, Hardyng continues, ‘in
the North as he a castell made, Pendragon hight, wher he his dwellying
had'. Whatever Pendragon castle is, it certainly is not built on
a height! Hardyng then has Uther attacked in Northumberland,
where presumably the castle was, before he defeated his Saxon enemies
and feasted at London before getting ensnared with Igrene. Quite
obviously this is all fantasy, yet where did the name Pendragon castle
come from when it was first used in 1228? And note the year 1228
and not the 1309 of Wikipedia. Pendragon does not appear in the
published versions of Geoffrey Monmouth (d.1155) or Malory
(d.1471). Certainly neither it or its alternate name of
Malverstang can be attached to any local town or feature.
The real castle history probably began when the area it was set in,
Westmorland, was acquired by the Norman, Ivo Taillebois
(d.1094/97). This probably happened in 1092 when William Rufus
(1087-1100) conquered Carlisle and annexed Cumberland
to his realm. After Ivo's death what was to become Westmorland
then passed to his wife's subsequent husbands, before being reclaimed
by the Crown in 1120/22 when Ranulf Meschin (d.1129) of Carlisle
granted his northern lands to Henry I (1100-35). It is possible
that one of these 3 husbands of Lucy Bolingbroke (d.1138), Ranulf
Meschin (d.1129), Roger Fitz Gerold (d.1098) or Ivo Taillebois
(d.1094/97), founded the castle. The county of Westmorland, with
the site of Pendragon castle, did not exist until the late
1170s. Before this the lordship, as it is better termed at this
time, remained with the Crown from 1120/22 until it was taken by King
David of Scotland (1124-53) in the early years of the reign of King
Stephen (1135-54). King Henry II (1154-89) reclaimed the district
in 1157 and, after the invasion of King William of Scotland (1153-1214)
in 1173-74, the king spent £58 2s 8d on garrisoning the castles
of Westmorland, presumably these were Appleby, Brough
and possibly Pendragon. As can be seen there is no mention of
Pendragon or its castle during this early period. However, it
should be noted that references to the other 4 castles are also rather
sparse. The implication of the 1177 pipe roll is that these
Westmorland castles had been seized from Hugh Morville and were then
held by Reiner the dapifer of Ranulf Glanville (d.1190) at the king's
command. Thus in 1177 Reiner accounted for holding the district
in the years 1175, 1176 and 1177. The only places actually
mentioned in this report are the manors of Castle Sowerby (Sourebi) and Kendal, the former being well into Cumberland
and nowhere near what is now thought of as Westmorland. The
question of whether Pendragon castle existed before the Viponts took
over Westmorland in 1203 is therefore currently unanswerable.
However, it is worth examining the career of Hugh Morville (d.1201) who held
extensive power in Westmorland before 1174 according to the 1177 pipe roll.
On 21 February 1203, King John (1199-1216) informed his lieges that he
had given to Robert Vipont (d.1228) ‘our castles of Appleby and Brough
with all purtenances...' Possibly this included Pendragon castle
as this lay within Westmorland where the other 2 sites lay.
Robert's career is described more fully under Appleby.
When Robert died a little before 1 February 1228, the king granted the
ward of the land and heir of Robert Vipont to Earl Hubert Burgh of Kent
(d.1243) and commanded the constables of Pendragon (Malverstang), Peverelthorpe (Perlethorpe, Notts), Appleby, Brougham (Bruham) and Brough (Burgh)
to give them up to the earl's men. This was the first mention of
the castle and shows it was extant by then, but for how long it had
existed there is now probably only archaeological evidence to be
found. The fortress was not mentioned when Robert's heir, John
Vipont, died. On 4 August 1241 a writ was issued that committed Appleby and Brough
castles to royal constables, but no mention was made of
Pendragon. The next year, on 1 May 1242, all John's castles and
lands were granted to Bishop Walter Malus of Carlisle (1223-46, d.1248)
for 600m (£400) pa. Towards the end of Robert's minority an
inquisition was ordered into the waste committed to the lands formerly
of John Vipoint by the prior of Carlisle,
while he was guardian of the heir. One of the complaints was the
depredations carried out in the vale of Mallerstang, although Pendragon
castle was not mentioned.
John's heir, Robert Vipont, seems to have come of age by 15 June
1252. He subsequently took the cause of the reformers and
rebelled against King Henry III (1216-72) in 1263. By 7 June
1264, Robert was recently dead, possibly from wounds received at the
battle of Lewes on 14 May, when he was certainly in opposition to the
king. Consequently, his unnamed castles and lands were granted to
John Fitz John (d.1275), his brother in law, for keeping. Despite
his treason his testament was allowed to stand. Meanwhile his 2
heiresses were granted to royal favourites. Roger Clifford of Eardisley
(d.1282) was granted the wardship of the lands falling to the elder
daughter, Isabel Vipont (d.1292), together with her marriage, while
Roger Leybourne (d.1284) received the marriage of the younger Idonea
(d.1333) with her lands. The inquest post mortem of these 4
individuals suggest that the castles were divided amongst them with
Clifford having Brougham with its tower together with lands in Appleby and Brough, but these castles were not mentioned. Conversely Leybourne was recorded as having Brough and Pendragon castles, but not Appleby.
Roger Clifford died at the bridge of Boats in Gwynedd during the spring
of 1282. This resulted in an inquisition being made into his
lands on 19 January 1283. In Westmorland his lands included a
moiety of Mallerstang [Pendragon] worth £22 3s 9d.
Clifford's widow, Isabel, only survived her husband 10 years, dying
aged about 35 in 1292. Roger Leybourne died soon after his
Clifford brother in law, a little before 21 February 1284. In
Westmorland it was found that he held Brough castle (Burg under Steynmor) with a moiety of the manor as well as other moieties which included, Appleby,
Kirkby Stephen and all Malrestang castle [Pendragon] with a moiety of
the forest. The services of his moiety of the knights and free
tenants of Westmorland called cornage was worth £13 11s 4d yearly
while the fee farms of free tenants were worth £2 15s 7¾d
and his profits from the county court was reckoned at £3 6s
8d. All this was held for 2 knight's fees of the Crown.
On 14 July 1308, John Cromwell and his wife, Idonea Vipont, the widow
of Roger Leybourne (d.1284), granted in fee to Robert Clifford [their
nephew], Brough castle with the manors of Appleby,
King's Meburne, Kirkby Stephen and Mallerstang [Pendragon] with
appurtenances in the county of Westmorland. By this act the old
barony of Robert Vipont (d.1228) in Westmorland was virtually recreated
in Clifford hands with Appleby at its head and Pendragon and its castle
as a member. The next year Clifford apparently applied for a
licence to crenellate his castles of Brougham
and Pendragon, although no record was kept of such a licence actually
being issued. This is often taken as the occasion for the
building of the masonry castle, but that totally misunderstands the
point of licences to crenellate. Most likely this was simply
Clifford seeking a sign of royal favour.
Pendragon castle may have been defensible at this time, for after the
battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, Edward Bruce invaded England via
Berwick and progressed far beyond Richmond although he attacked no castles. On their return he had the towns of Brough, Appleby
and Kirkoswald burned, ‘and the people of Copeland, fearing their
return and invasion, sent envoys to appease them with much
money'. Soon afterwards an inquest post mortem was held on
Clifford's lands. This found that he held in Westmorland a barony
by the service of 4 knights and this included the castles of Appleby with a park called Flakebrig, Brough
with the castle..., Kirkby Stephen with a capital messuage etc,
including a castle called Pendragon in the vale of Mallerstangg... and Brougham castle and manor amongst other places.
In 1322 Pendragon was confiscated by the Crown after the execution of
Roger Clifford and the failure of the Lancaster rebellion of which he
was a part. Clifford's brother, Robert (1305-44), was restored by
the Mortimer government of King Edward III (1327-77) when he came to
power. So it was that Pendragon was recorded as a part of the
Clifford lands which included Appleby with 'the castles of Brougham and Pendragon and also the castle of Brugh under Stainmore...
held by the service of 4 knight fees'. It is claimed without
evidence that the castle was burnt by the Scots in 1341 and so was
subsequently restored by the Cliffords. The Clifford lands were
confiscated during the Yorkist period (1461-85), but were returned to
the Ciffords by King Henry VII (1485-1509). According to Leland it was
still standing in 1539 but was again burnt by the Scots in 1541.
The castle was restored by Lady Anne Clifford in 1660, who also built
an enclosing wall, two gates, stables and outbuildings, all of which
have disappeared. The tower was apparently again dismantled soon
after her death in 1676.
Description
Pendragon is an odd site and like its history, its ruins are also
peculiar. They lie above the east bank of the River Eden, but
¾ of a mile to the north of Outhgill with its little
chapel. The remains suggest that the castle began life as a
horseshoe shaped ringwork with a ditch, still up to 15' deep, covering
all the sides but the west which had the steep scarp down to the
river. The ground falls naturally to the south on which side the
ditch is mainly the fall of the land although there is a counterscarp
particularly to the south-east. This bank was presumably made
from material from the ditch which was up to 60' across. To the
north-west the ditch has not been completed to the riverside scarp,
leaving a narrow causeway. As this appears to be virgin ground it
suggests that this was deliberately left uncut and therefore marks an
original entrance. The resulting D shaped earthwork has a
diameter of some 180', with the west side shaved off. Some 200'
north of the site are some jumbled foundations in a possibly
rectangular enclosure. These may be outworks known to have been
built by Lady Anne Clifford (d.1676). Certainly the road seems to
swing around these to the north and east. Amongst these traces is
a circular hollow that may once have been a kiln. It has also
been suggested that there was an artificial pond just east of
here. Just west of the river is a possible prospect mound which
may have also been built for Lady Anne. Buck's drawing of the
site made in 1736 shows the remains of the block built for Anne
Clifford in 1660. The current traces suggest that this was some
190' long by 30' wide and appears to have been divided into at least 5
separate rooms.
Within the ringwork enclosure are the square ruins of the castle,
standing slightly south and east of the true centre, leaving a berm of
some 50' to the north, 40' to the east and 30' to the south. To
the south-west the scarp is at one point no more than 25' from the
masonry. The masonry structure itself is hard to classify and
descriptions range from keep to tower to pele. All 3 descriptions
appear valid in some way.
The ‘keep' is about 65' square with walls 8' thick. As the
entire structure seems to have been roofed over it is obviously a tower
and not a castle ward. Oddly there are no traces of any curtain
around this tower, although the remains of one appears to be shown on
Buck's print following the top of the ditch. The current ruins
consist of a ground floor with Romanesque windows whose exteriors are
somewhat similar to those in the north ward at Chepstow. The
tower seems to stand on a single course of chamfered plinth which is
visible above the turf here and there. There also seem to be
clasping pilaster turrets at the 3 surviving corners, the fourth, to
the south-west, having been rebuilt to allow for a projecting
rectangular garderobe turret, the only real flanking of the entire
structure. The quoining of the pilaster turrets was carried right
across the walls at the base of the second floor making recessed panels
on each face, bar the north, entrance front. This is clearly
shown on the Buck print.
Internally the window embrasures have strong Romanesque arches, but are
now mostly choked with debris which fills the bulk of the ground
floor. Entrance was gained to the north via a central gateway
whose arch has collapsed. However it is plain that the main
defence of this portal was a portcullis. The gateway was flanked
by square turrets which project slightly as pilaster buttresses.
Within was a short gate passageway that ended with an apparent wall
which has now been replaced with a short flight of modern steps which
allows access to the top of the debris filling the ground floor.
Originally entrance seems to have been gained via the 2 doors to east
and west into the internal gate turrets. Such an arrangement is
most odd. Odder still is the fact that the west door is
Romanesque and has a moulding, while the east door is square headed and
has none. Both doorways are chamfered as are the portcullis
quoins. All would appear to be contemporary and the suspicion
must be that this odd gatehouse layout is the work of Lady Anne.
Within the tower there was obviously a north-south dividing wall making
an uneven division of the interior with the smaller third being to the
west. Of the first floor little remains, but there were obviously
mural passageways in the thickness of the wall, possibly running the
entire circumference of the tower. This would bear comparison
with Brougham keep. The one surviving doorway in the west end of
the south wall is Romanesque. In the west wall a single
rectangular loop which could be any date from the eleventh century
onwards stands in stark contrast to the far more decorative, larger
Romanesque loop on the floor beneath it. The corner turrets
contained barrel vaulted chambers. The first floor seems to have
had similar chambers, but they are now mostly destroyed. The
north-west turret seems to have contained a stair. Of the upper
floor very little remains, but Buck's print seems to show battlements
above this level. Centrally in the west wall was a larger window
which seems out of place with the other smaller loops. The
smaller chamber to the west was obviously served by the additional
garderobe turret to the south-west. This has small rectangular
windows and a chute at the base. Such a turret bears comparison
with that at Bewcastle.
Pennant's sketch of the castle seems to show the east face of the
castle. This has some odd features, namely large pointed windows
at ground floor level and a large recessed arch at the first floor
which contained 3 lancet windows. Above this on the second floor
is a gabled centre between the 2 corner turrets, pierced by 2 large
pointed windows. The suspicion is that this was the east end of a
chapel. The sketch would also suggest that the south-west turret
rose another storey above a string course. It also suggests that
the second floor projected slightly over the first floor. This
bears some resemblance to the upper floor of the keep at
Brougham.
All in all it would seem that this odd, low, rectangular tower is best compared to
Brougham keep and possibly Hopton keep in Shropshire. It's mural
wall passages and vaulted chambers in the corner turrets also draw
parallels with Carlisle keep and the great tower, descending the scarp
at Clun castle in Shropshire. Similarities in the mural passages
and turret chambers can also be seen in the old keeps of Rochester and
Hedingham, as well as Henry II's great keep at Dover.
Why not join me here and at other Northern
English castles this year? Please see the information on this and
similar tours at Scholarly Sojourns.
Copyright©2022
Paul Martin Remfry
