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Piel Island Castle
The island stands guard over an excellent harbour, at one time considered the best between Milford Haven in Wales and the Scottish border. King Stephen granted the island to Furness Abbey in 1127 to provide the monks of Furness Abbey with a safe harbourneeded due to the many raids by the Scots. A wooden tower was built on the island in 1212, when King John allowed the Abbey to store provisions there. Thereafter, ships used the island to unload cargo destined for the abbey. Royal protection was given to the Abbeys ships. In the early part of the 14th century, a motte and bailey castle, Piel, was added when Edward III gave Furness Abbey a license to crenellate the tower. Stones for the castle were taken from the beach and roughly worked, although red sandstone from the quarries around Furness Abbey was used to provide architectural detail.
I was thy neighbor once, though rugged Pile! So pure the sky, so quiet was the air!
The landlord of the Ship Inn is traditionally known as the King of Piel. This custom dates back to Lambert Simnels time when he declared himself king upon landing on the island. If you have ever fancied yourself a knight, all you have to do is sit in the Ship Inns oaken chair and have the King of Piel perform a ceremony. Then buy everyone a drink, declare you are of good character and are an ardent lover of the opposite sex. If you become a knight and are shipwrecked on the island, you may claim a free nights lodging at the pub, along with all the food and drink you can hold. Only the overgrown and haunting remains of the castle, the Ship Inn and a few primitive 18th century homes today dot the island. Piel Island Roa Island facilities: Yacht Club, cafe, Life Boat station. Piel Castle Photos courtesy Barbara Ballard and Bill Clark Southlakes © 1997-2008 by The Cumbria Directory. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part, including images, and reproduction in electronic media, without documented permission from The Cumbria Directory is prohibited. |
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This quiet and seemingly remote island, without electricity
and only one permanent resident, the King of Piel, belies its busy past when, at one time, 250
ships were anchored in its harbor. It boasts a chequered history. First visited by Celts and
Romans, it was also settled by Scandinavians, possibly for grazing animals.
Situated on a low mound at the highest point on
the island, the castle was designed with a large three storey keep, inner and outer baileys, and
towers at three of its corners. A ditch surrounded the entire structure. Today, trees and shrubs
enfold the moss-covered ruins of the keep, and the ditch surrounding the inner and outer baileys
is overgrown with shrub. Tumbling towers no longer guard the Castle. Curtain walls have collapsed
onto the beach where their remains still lie.
Piel Castle not only provided safe storage from
pirates, it also was a creditable defense from the Kings customs menthe abbey itself had a
roaring trade in smuggling. Although King Henry IV at one time held the island, his power there
was short lived. Smuggling continued until 1487 when Lambert Simnel, the pretender to the throne,
(he claimed to be the Earl of Warwick) landed on Piel Island with an army of German and Irish
mercenaries, then crossed Furness on his march to London. After his capture, smuggling resumed.
With the dissolution of the monasteries, King Henry VIII sounded the death knell for Piel Castle,
already in a state of disrepair. William Wordsworth wrote about Piel Castle, after visiting the
island in 1805:
The Parliamentarians took charge of the island
in the Civil War and anchored their fleet there. There were later instances of smuggling, but, in
1727, Revenue Officers were successful in shutting down the trade. Piel Island continued to be
used as a harbour when the Furness area became involved in the iron industry. The pub and homes
for ships pilots were constructed in the late 1700s.