Scaleby Castle

(See also Scaleby)

Scaleby Castle is a Grade I listed building, constructed with red sandstone, thought to have originated from Hadrians wall. It was granted to Richard de Tilliol by Henry I between 1100-1135. It was held by the Scots when they took possession of Cumberland in 1136 but regained by the family when the area reverted to the English crown in 1157. The castle has been much altered and repaired over the centuries.

The building was first called a castle in 1367. It decayed in the 1500s but was restored by Sir Richard Musgrave and a new wing was added a century later. The castle was damaged by parliamentary troops in 1645 during a siege. Restored in 1685, it was ruinous by 1772. The modern part was repaired and restored in the early 1800s. It is presently inhabited by Lord Henley.

The buildings that make up the castle site are in an L shape. The three storeys above the basement vault of the tower are still ruined. There is a two-storey gatehouse, three storey great hall, a two-storey curtain tower, and a small enclosed courtyard. It was surrounded by two moats, the outer one still remaining. Author Rev. William Gilpin, who wrote Forest Scenery, Observations on the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland, was born in the castle in 1724.

Scaleby Castle is located at Scaleby, six miles north-east of Carlisle.
The castle is not open to the public.

Photo courtesy Blackett-Ord Consulting Engineers

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