Pendragon Castle

After driving home from Aysgarth Falls I came across an old Castle.

After having a really good look around and taking some images I decided to return home and do a bit of digging into what it used to be (Apart from a castle obviously)

Pendragon Castle is reputed to have been founded by Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur. According to legend, Uther Pendragon and a hundred of his men were killed here when the Saxon invaders poisoned the well.

There are also claims that the Romans built at least a temporary fort here, along the road between their forts at Brough and Bainbridge. But (apart from legend and supposition), there is no real evidence that there was any building here before the Normans built their castle in the 12th Century.

The castle was built next to the River Eden in the Vale of Mallerstang in the late 12th century, probably by Hugh de Morville. Like the nearby castles of Appleby and Brough, Pendragon came into the possession of the Clifford family.

It was abandoned after a raiding Scottish army set fire to the castle in 1341, but was rebuilt in 1360. It was left in ruins by another fire in 1541, but was restored in the mid 17th century by Lady Anne Clifford.

The castle gradually fell back into ruin after her death - and now remains a romantic ruin, set in glorious scenery.

Well That's the information I found out about the Castle. It was such a nice stop off on the way home.

Below are the last few images I took.

This was a image taken through the collapsing walls.

And this is one of the hundreds of clumps of plants covering the walls of the castle.

Pendragon Castle was such a nice find, and with it being right at the roadside it made things even easier to go and have a look at it.