Castle Hewin (The Gatehouse Record)

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as;
Castle Hewen; Castle Luen; Castellewyn; Castlehewings; Castle Lewen

In the civil parish of Hesket.
In the historic county of Cumberland.
Modern Authority of Cumbria.
1974 county of Cumbria.
Medieval County of Cumberland.

OS Map Grid Reference: NY48544627
Latitude 54.80864° Longitude -2.80215°

Castle Hewin has been described as a Masonry Castle but is rejected as such.

There are no visible remains.

Description

The foundations of Castle Hewin in 1794 were in places 8 ft. thick, and one building was 233 ft. x 147 ft. It was situated on the top of a ridge adjoining Aiketgate, and there were outer defences and long extended trenches. (Hutchinson)
Leyland (circ. 1533) refers to the ruined Castle Hewen, which was probably a Mediaeval stronghold. The site has been ploughed out and the only trace is a depression near the summit. (Graham)
Excavated in 1978-9 by Tom Clare, the only finds were Romano-British. An interim report in typescript is in Carlisle Library (Perriam and Robinson). (PastScape)

On the crown of a lofty eminence, towards the north east of the lake, and adjoining Aiket-gate, are the remains of a very strong building, which has consisted of several apartments, strengthened with out-works, and long extended trenches.
The dimensions of the building are 233 feet, by 147; besides a smaller one at one corner, 49 feet square. The foundations still appear, faced with large stoncs of Ashler work; in some places eight feet in thickness. At what time this fortress was erected, or to whom it belonged, we find few traces in ancient authors. It is called, by the neighbouring inhabitants, Castle Hewin, and the neighbouring tenants pay to the Lord of the manor, a yearly rent, which is called Castle Hewin rent. Tradition reports it to have been one of the fortresses and strong holds of King Ewaine. (Hutchinson 1794)

Comments

Castle, King writes tower, of probable medieval origin, recorded as ruined by Leland in 1553. Also recorded by Hutchinson in 1794. Jackson thinks probably refers to a vanished Iron Age fort. Chandler transcribes Leland as "Six miles from Carlisle in Inglewood Forest may be seen the ruins of a castle called Castel Luen. I must remember to find out from the (Antonine) Itinerary the positions of the old towns" which suggest Leland knew the site was Roman. Can be reject as medieval castle.

Sources of information, references and further reading

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s) 11326.
County Historic Environment Record (or Sites and Monuments Record) number(s) 709.

Websites (Gatehouse is not responsible for the content of external websites.)
- Old Cumbria Gazetteer
Books
- Perriam, Denis and Robinson, John, 1998, The Medieval Fortified Buildings of Cumbria (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 29) p. 197
  Jackson, M.J.,1990, Castles of Cumbria (Carlisle: Carel Press) p. 96
  King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 92
  Curwen, J.F., 1913, Castles and Fortified Towers of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire North of the Sands (Kendal: CWAAS Extra Series 13) p. 263-4
  Jefferson, S., 1840, History and Antiquities of Leith Ward in the county of Cumberland p. 225
  Hutchinson, Wm., 1794, The history of the county of Cumberland Vol. 1 p. 492-3 online copy
Periodical Articles
- Graham, T.H.B., 1909, 'Six Extinct Cumberland Castles' Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society Vol. 9 p. 209-212 online copy
Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
- Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p. 97
  Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 5 p. 56 online copy

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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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