CASTLE SOWERBY

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DESCRIPTION

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Castle How is the probable site of Castle Sowerby which is mentioned in the pipe rolls of Henry II. It would have been dismantled before 1237 when the manor of Castle Sowerby was assigned to the King of Scotland. According to Cathcart King, the site is mentioned in 1186-7 and the castle may be an unfinished work.

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[NY 3605 3840] Castle How, Ancient Earthwork [T.I.]. (1)

Castle How motte, 1/2m. S.W. of Southernby, is the possible site of Castle Sowerby castle, which is mentioned in the pipe rolls of Henry II. It would have been dismantled before 1237 when the manor of Castle Sowerby was assigned to the King of Scotland. (2-3)

The published survey (25" revised) consists of a natural ridge of high ground 200.0m in length running north to south, with a more or less level area to the NW.

The southern spur of the ridge may have supported an artificial structure but there is no evidence of this nor is there any trace of
a motte.
The banks to the north, of which only very slight traces remain,
appear to be of no significance.
Published survey (25") revised. (4)

From the description and historical evidence this feature
would seem to fall in the general category of Norman ringworks. (5)

Listed by Cathcart King as being mentioned as a place in 1186-7. Probably an unfinished work (6)

A castle at Sowerby is documented between 1157 and 1214, at which time it was in the King's possession. (7)

Probable ringwork, but not the site of a castle on the balance of evidence. (8)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" (Prov.) 1956

( 2) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

22 - 1922 Page(s)114

( 3) Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society

23 - 1923 Page(s)240

( 4) Field Investigators Comments

F1 BHP 10-JUN-71

( 5) Field Investigators Comments

F2 CPW 01-JUL-71

(6) by David J Cathcart King 1983 Castellarium anglicanum : an index and bibliography of the castles in England, Wales and the islands. Volume I : Anglesey - Montgomery

1 - 1983 Page(s)83

(7) by R Allen Brown 1989 Castles, conquest and charters : collected papers

Page(s)119

(8) Denis R Perriam and John Robinson 1998 The medieval fortified buildings of Cumbria : an illustrated gazetteer and research guide

Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society extra series vol.29 Page(s)198

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