England · Ruin
Gleaston Castle
Gleaston Castle is a 14th-century quadrangular castle on the Furness peninsula in Cumbria, built for the Harrington family and later abandoned in the 15th century. The standing remains are a ruined limestone enclosure with a tower at each corner and red sandstone used for door and window dressings. The site is a Grade I listed ruin and is on the Heritage At Risk register; the ruins are visible from the roadside and the site forms part of a working farm.
First raised
1350
Its prime
1350
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1350
What Gleaston Castle looked like in its prime.
A quadrilateral walled enclosure of local grey limestone with a tower at each corner and red sandstone used for door and window dressings; the largest north-west corner tower occupies the higher north end of the site. The western curtain wall is very thick and in places rises to great height with a mid-wall bastion between the north-west and south-west towers. The south-west and south-east towers are tall multi-storey masonry blocks; the ground slopes up to the north and the castle sits in a grassy valley.
Its story
The story of Gleaston Castle.
Gleaston Castle was most likely built for John Harington, 1st Baron Harington, in the 14th century, replacing nearby Aldingham Motte as the centre of the manor the Harringtons had held since 1291. It is first mentioned in 1389, though John Harington, 2nd Baron, is said to have died there in 1363. The plan is quadrilateral, with a tower at each corner, the largest, the north-west tower, probably housed a hall.
The castle descended through the Harringtons until William Harington, 5th Baron, died in 1458, when it passed by marriage to William Bonville and was abandoned. It went on to the Grey family until Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, was executed for treason in 1554, then became royal property before the Preston family bought it in the 17th century; from them it passed to the Cavendishes.
Because it was deserted barely a century after it was built, the ruin preserves 14th-century work unaltered by later occupation: locally quarried limestone with red sandstone door and window dressings, the sandstone possibly gathered from a beach two miles away. The Grade I listed remains, on the Heritage at Risk register, now form part of a working farm and are visible from the roadside.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1350.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Gleaston Castle, including 3 interiors: great hall in the north-west tower, interior courtyard / bailey, private chapel. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Gleaston Castle.
The families that held Gleaston Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Harrington
Held by the Harrington barons from 1291 until the death of William Harington, 5th Baron Harington, in 1458.
Held by the Grey family until Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, was executed for treason in 1554.
Preston
Bought by the Preston family in the 17th century.
Passed from the Prestons to the Cavendish family.
