Bewley Castle (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Buley

In the civil parish of Bolton.
In the historic county of Westmorland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Westmorland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY64802115
Latitude 54.58432° Longitude -2.54637°

Bewley Castle has been described as a certain Palace, and also as a certain Fortified Manor House.

There are masonry ruins/remnants remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*.

Description

Late C14 to early C15 ruined remains of a former residence of the bishops of Carlisle, possible on site of earlier house of Bishop Beaulieu. Built by Bishop Ross (1325-1332), it was restored by Bishop Strickland in 1402. The remains consist of the lower part of one range with a tower at its south east angle and still standing to the lower part of the third storey. There are traces of adjoining buildings on the north and north west of the surviving range. (PastScape)

Bewley Castle (Plate 80), ruin on the S. edge of the parish, 1 m. S.S.E. of the church, was formerly of three storeys; the walls are of rubble and ashlar. The castle was formerly a residence of the bishops of Carlisle and the surviving remains seem to date very largely from the 14th century. The house, including the chapel and Lord's chamber, was restored by Bishop Strickland in 1402. The house subsequently passed to the families of Machell and Musgrave. The remains consist of the lower part of one range with a tower at its S.W. angle and still standing to the lower part of the third storey. There are traces of adjoining buildings on the N. and N.W. of the surviving range. The N. end of the range was cut off by a cross-wall and had a barrel-vault, the springing of which remains on the N. wall; there are remains of single-light windows in the N. and E. walls of this apartment. Immediately to the S. there appears to have been a large recess or window in the E. wall and against the S. splay is a doorjamb in a second cross-wall, now removed. Near the S. end of the wall is a single-light window with a depressed rear-arch. In the S. end of the range is a square-headed window, formerly of two lights, and above it is a window of two trefoiled lights with window-seats; both have lost their mullions; at the S.W. angle are the remains of a garde-robe turret. The S.E. tower has a barrel-vaulted ground storey with a loop in the E. wall and a garde-robe turret on the S.E. The room is entered by a doorway with a four-centred head. The second storey has a 14th-century window in the E. wall, of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head with a moulded label and in the S. wall is a square-headed window. The top storey is largely destroyed but has remains of two door-jambs on the S. wall. At the N. end of the range an adjoining building on the W. had a barrel-vault, of which the springing remains on the wall of the range. (RCHME 1936)

Substantial remains of south end, up to 30 feet high, date from late C14/early C15. Ashlar and rubble, roofless; one ground floor room retains segmental barrel vault. Remains of 2 garderobes. Various windows survive. (Listed Building Report)

Sources of information, references and further reading

National Heritage List for England Scheduled Monument Number 1007146, Legacy Scheduled Monument Number cu331
National Heritage List for England Listed Building number(s) 1065873
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 13637.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 1639.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Visit Cumbria
  Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 260-1 (plan)
  Thompson, M.W., 1998, Medieval bishops' houses in England and Wales (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing) p. 172
  Salter, Mike, 1998, The Castles and Tower Houses of Cumbria (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 20
  Emery, Anthony, 1996, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 1 Northern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 191
  Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p. 266
  Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carlisle: Carel Press) p. 33
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 2 p. 490
  Hugill, Robert, 1977, Castles and Peles of Cumberland and Westmorland (Newcastle; Frank Graham) p. 40-1
  Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1967, Buildings of England: Cumberland and Westmorland (Harmondsworth) p. 227
  RCHME, 1936, An inventory of the historical monuments in Westmorland (HMSO) p. 43-44 no. 2 plan online transcription
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 253-4
  Wilson, J., 1912, Rose Castle: the Residential Seat of the Bishop of Carlisle (Carlisle) p. 10
  Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 285 online copy
  Taylor, M.W., 1892, Old Manorial Halls of Westmorland and Cumberland (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 8) p. 119-22 online copy
  Hodgson, J., 1810, Topographical and Historical Description of Westmoreland p. 144 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Carmichael, T.A., 1927, 'Bewley Castle' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 27 p. 184-8 online copy
  Collingwood, W.G., 1926, 'An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments of Westmorland and Lancashire North-of-the-Sands' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 26 p. 17 online copy
  Curwen, 1909, 'Proceedings' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 9 p. 319 online copy
  Wilson and Bewley, 1903, Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 3 p. 240-62 online copy
  Ferguson, R.S., 1886, 'The Episcopal Residences of the Bishop of Carlisle, No. 1. Buley or Bewley Castle' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 8.2 p. 413-5, 461 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Camden, Wm, 1607, Britannia hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton (2004)
Other sources: Theses; 'grey' literature; in-house reports; unpublished works; etc.
- Payne, Naomi, 2003, The medieval residences of the bishops of Bath and Wells, and Salisbury (PhD Thesis University of Bristol) Appendix B: List of Medieval Bishop's Palaces in England and Wales (available via EThOS)

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The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.

Suggestions for finding online and/or hard copies of bibliographical sources can be seen at this link.
Minor archaeological investigations, such as watching brief reports, and some other 'grey' literature is most likely to be held by H.E.R.s but is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded here, or elsewhere, but some suggestions can be found here.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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