England · Still standing
Pennsylvania Castle
Pennsylvania Castle is a Gothic Revival marine mansion on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, built 1797–1800 for John Penn. The building is constructed of Portland stone with embattled parapets, projecting corner turrets and a cylindrical tower, and overlooks Church Ope Cove. It is a Grade II listed building and today functions as a private residence and hire venue.
First raised
1800
Its prime
1800
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1800
What Pennsylvania Castle looked like in its prime.
A white-cream Portland stone rectangular mansion with a crenellated roofline, projecting corner turrets and a round tower; façades punctured by regularly spaced multi-light windows with simple vertical mullions. Low curving garden walls and a broad lawn sit before the entrance side; an adjacent low gatehouse and separate lodges stand at the approach. The house occupies a raised site above a rocky cove, with a terrace and gardens sloping down toward the sea.
Its story
The story of Pennsylvania Castle.
John Penn's Marine Mansion, 1797–1800
Pennsylvania Castle stands at Wakeham on the Isle of Portland, above Church Ope Cove. John Penn, Governor of Portland and grandson of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, came across the spot on one of his journeys with George III and chose it for a marine mansion. It was built of Portland stone between 1797 and 1800 to designs by the architect James Wyatt, in the Gothic Revival manner, and the king's daughter Princess Elizabeth opened it officially in 1800.
The Court Leet's Rent and Hardy's Sylvania Castle
A few years later, at a time when sea bathing was popular, Penn had a bath built below the castle gardens. It stood on common land, and once it was finished Portland's Court Leet demanded rent for its use. Penn refused to pay, and the bath was abandoned. The house entered fiction as Sylvania Castle in Hardy's novel The Well-Beloved of 1892.
Churchill, Eisenhower and de Gaulle at Portland
During the Second World War, Winston Churchill, General Eisenhower and General de Gaulle all visited the castle, meeting there to finalise their plans for the Normandy landings.
The Pennsylvania Castle Hotel and After, since 1950
In 1950 the private residence was turned into a hotel, the Pennsylvania Castle Hotel, which went on trading into the 1990s before the house reverted to a private home. It was sold in 2011 for £4 million to a buyer from Australia, and was afterwards made available as a holiday home taking weddings and private and corporate functions. Portland's most expensive residential property, it is a Grade II listed building, as are the gatehouse and lodges beside it, which are now in separate ownership.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1800.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Pennsylvania Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Pennsylvania Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1800, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Pennsylvania Castle.
The families that held Pennsylvania Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Penn
Built 1797–1800 for John Penn.
Nearby
