Brough Castle
|
The ruined keep at Brough Castle. |
Brough Castle is a ruined
castle in the village of
Brough, Cumbria,
England. It is currently owned and administered by
English Heritage.
The Castle consists of a large mound, on which there is a large range of buildings, with a circular corner tower, and the remenants of an older four storey
keep.
Brough was the site of the
Roman fort of Verterae. Verterae, or Verteris, was built to control the lands of the
Brigantes and guard the Roman road linking
Carlisle with
Ermine Street (the modern
A66. The Roman fort covered a much larger area than the present castle and is now a
Scheduled Ancient Monument [
1].
The first castle was built by
William Rufus in the 1090's, as a stone
motte and bailey in the north part of the former fort. One of the first stone castles to be built in Britain, the walls show the herringbone pattern typical of
Norman architecture. Brough Castle first came under serious attack in 1174, during a raid on England by the Scottish king
William the Lion, in support of the
Revolt of 1173-1174. The castle's defenders eventually surrendered when William burned it down, destroying all but the base of the keep
The current keep dates from the 1180s, when
Theobald de Valoignes rebuilt the remains of the castle.
King John gave the castle to
Robert of Vieuxpont in 1203, and he contnued to refortify, constructing an upper hall over the courtyard.
|
Brough Castle from the south east. Clifford's Tower is in the foreground, with the keep behind on the left. |
In the 1268 the castle passed to the Clifford family, the
barons de Clifford, who also owned
Brougham Castle in the area.
Robert Clifford began to enlarge and improve the castle, building the circular tower at the south east corner, known as Clifford's Tower, around 1300. A new upper hall, and associated chambers, was built by his grandson
Roger around 1350. The Cliffords lived here until Christmas 1521, when fire again destroyed the castle.
After lying derelict for nearly 140 years,
Lady Anne Clifford began a programme of repairs and rebuilding at Brough in 1659. A stone plaque commemorating her efforts was erected in 1663. She spent considerable periods of time here, but after her death in 1676 the castle ceased to be occupied.
Following the death of Anne Clifford, the castle passed to the
earls of Thanet, who made their home at
Appleby Castle in
Appleby-in-Westmorland. Brough castle began to decline accordingly. A sale was held in 1715, raising £55 from the auctioning of the roof and fittings. Much of the stone was plundered, mostly in 1763 when Brough mill was built. Even the commemorative plaque was reused, under the water-wheel.
An engraving of 1739 by the Buck Brothers shows Brough Castle still standing, but by the time it came under the protection of the
Ministry of Works in 1920, it was only just saved from total collapse. It is now cared for by English Heritage.
*
English Heritage*
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