Scaleby

(See also Scaleby Castle)

Scaleby lies in farmland near Carlisle. The village claims two buildings of note: a castle and a church.

The church of All Saints, although dating from the early 1200s, was restored in 1827 and 1861. Its style is Early English. There is a west tower (the top circa 1600s), wide nave with buttresses, and round-headed doorways. The south porch is Victorian. The font dates from 1707.

Scaleby Castle (Grade I, listed ancient monument) was granted to Richard de Tilliol by Henry I. It 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. The castle was damaged by parliamentary troops in 1645. Ruinous by 1772, it was repaired in the early 1800s. The three storeys above the basement vault are still ruined. It is surrounded by a moat. Author Rev. William Gilpin, who wrote Forest Scenery, Observations on the Lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland, was born in the castle in 1724.

Peat was once dug in the area, and the skeleton of an ancient Briton was found in the digs.

Scaleby castle is not open to the public.

Location Map of Scaleby
Scaleby is located six miles north-east of Carlisle on a minor road off the A6071.

Photos courtesy of Steve Bulman and Blackett-Ord Consulting Engineers

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