Pendragon Castle | 900 YEARS of ACTION in 5 minutes
This is Pendragon Castle in Cumbria, England. If you’re interested in haunted castles, this one has a few ghosts…I’ll tell you about those in a moment.
I was driving by on my way home after giving a talk to a farmers luncheon group in Hawes , a small town a few miles away in North Yorkshire
According to legend the original castle was built by Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, in the 5th century
It’s a great legend…However, there is no evidence to support that there was a castle here before the 12th century…although it’s likely because of its chosen position that there was a fortification of some sort here …Castles were often build atop old forts
Pendragon Castle has had several notable owners including Sir Hugh de Morville - one of the knights who murdered Sir Thomas Beckett in 1170….i mentioned this in a video I uploaded recently when I was filming in Canterbury and talking about the Australian accent…of all things!
Pendragon’s location is only 50 miles or so south of Scotland and over the centuries it has seen many a battle with Scottish armies and raiding parties
In fact the castle has been battered quite a lot over the years, including being set fire to on a few occasions…in one such attack by the Scot’s in 1341, the castle was so seriously attacked and damaged by fire, that it took 20 years for it to be restored…it was put back to full working defensive order in 1360
Almost two centuries later, in 1541, fire again left the castle in ruins. Ownership of the castle eventually passed to Lady Anne Clifford, who rebuilt it in 1660 as she did with many other Northern England castles. Lady Anne added an enclosing wall and other structures, including a stable, bakery, and brewhouse. After she died in 1676, the castle passed to the Earl of Thanet, who removed the lead from the roof. The castle gradually deteriorated into a ruinous state, with only a portion of the tower remaining today.
As for the ghosts: ghostly ladies in white fly around the castle ruins at night….and a mysterious horseman has been seen silently galloping towards the castle as moonbeams illuminate the castle in an eerie glow.
Many believe this horseman is this Uther Pendragon returning to seek shelter after a battle or riding to the castle with a frantic message to warn the inhabitants of an inpending attack by the Scots.