The first Cockermouth Castle was thought to be a wooden Motte and Bailey structure built on the area shown above as the "playing fields".

The first stone castle was built on the present site in 1134, made it is thought, from stone taken from the Roman Fort at Papcastle.

The castle played a significant role in the War of the Roses in the mid 15th Century and the Civil Wars of the 1640's.

It is still privately owned but is open to the public on a few days a year, such as during the Cockermouth Festival Week.

Fortunately I was able to obtain two tickets for a visit organised by the Cockermouth Civic Trust, so invited a neighbour to join me.

We arrived at the modern outer gates and were split into two groups of twelve, then invited in by our guide Darren of the Civic Trust.

Originally the triangular castle was constructed at the end of the promontory overlooking the river, but has been extended over the years.

This would have been the Outer Bailey, outside the protection of the main building, but this area has now been incorporated into the modern castle plan.

The Gatehouse and residential buildings on the left are even more modern, some dating from as recently as the 1850's.

This early castle was built by the Percy Family  in the 12th century and is today privately owned by Lord Egremont, a descendants of the Percy's.

The castle was destroyed as a safe haven by the Parliamentarians after the Civil War and it's true history is patchy as a result.

What was really noticeable however, was the size of the present structure as all this detail is hidden behind high walls.

- - - o o o - - - The first castle to occupy this site was built by the Normans in 1134, as a defence against Scots incursions, a common feature of life in the north of England during the Middle Ages. This building was replaced in 1225 with a more substantial stone building. Various magnates held the castle, the most prominent being the Percy family, Earls of Northumberland, who acquired the castle through the marriage of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, to the widow of Gilbert de Umfraville. - - - o o o - - -	- - - o o o - - - The Percy family then held it until the 1600s and the castle has a long and violent history. Part of its structure was destroyed by the famous Scottish king, Robert the Bruce in 1315.   Information courtesy of : https://www.english-lakes.com/cockermouth.html - - - o o o - - -

The view out of the windows of the castle, looking down on . . .	the new Cockermouth town to the left and the River Derwent to the right.

The next area would have been the Great Hall, which dates from around 1360.

At this time the Lord of the Manor provided all the food his subjects needed, so they only needed to sleep in their small houses built outside of the castle.

They all worked to grow the food and gather the fuel for the castle.  In exchange all their food was cooked for them in the castle kitchens and served here.

In this way the Lord of the Manor could maintain discipline within his subjects as, should you transgress, you didn't get fed !

We passed a Victorian wheel that was modern part of an old water pump, presumably to provide the kitchen area with water ?

A set of dark steps adjacent to it took us down into the basement of the kitchens, to the area known as the Murk Kirk !

This cool area would have made a good food store below the kitchens.	It could alternatively been used for housing animals for the castle.

Note two architectural styles of arch, the rounded Norman arch and the later Islamic pointed arch

which could provide higher ceilings without compromising structural integrity.

The area of the moat had been filled in with buildings around the 1400's	Much vandalised, we could still see spiral stairs, alcoves and fireplaces.

The arched doorway would have been part of an elevated entrance protected by a drawbridge on the outer side and an elevated floor on the inside.

The entry was controlled by the guardsmen who had rooms either side.

Escape from the dungeon was impossible and those cast down would be "forgotten" till they died !

'The skull' was a stone carving by the way.

Back out now from the Inner Gatehouse and into the Outer Bailey which would have been open to the world at that time.

By the 1440's the new extended perimeter wall included an outer gatehouse which was built closer to the present road. 

We used that entrance on the way in.

The ivy covered building is the Flag Tower dating from this 1400's extension.

Over time the castle changed from a fortress to the civil administrative centre for the area.

Stable blocks, office rooms and new residential buildings were all built within this Outer Bailey.

- - - o o o - - -

- - - o o o - - - Catholic Mary Queen of Scots was forced to flee Scotland following her forced abdication in favour for her one year old son, James. Although Mary had attempted to regain the throne it was unsuccessful and show had no choice but to seek help in England. Following her troops defeat in battle just outside of Glasgow, Mary wrote to Lord Scrofe of Carlisle declaring her intentions to cross the border into England. Mary set sail from Drundrennan Abbey and landed at Siddick near Workington on the afternoon of the 16th May 1568. One of Mary’s men, Lord Herries, sent word ahead to Workington Hall that Mary had landed. The Curwens received the former Scottish Queen and provided for her. Such was the disrepair of Cockermouth Castle that when Mary Queen of Scots came to Cockermouth in 1568 she stayed at the now demolished Cockermouth Hall. - - - o o o - - -

- - - o o o - - -   It was at Workington Hall that Mary wrote a letter in French to the (protestant) Queen Elizabeth I of England asking for help and protection from her 'first cousin' and from England, believing that Elizabeth would support her cause. However, Elizabeth feared Mary would be more trouble than she was worth, or even want the throne, that she failed to support her. Mary only stayed at Workington Hall for three days before she was escorted to Cockermouth by Henry Curwen and Sheriff Richard Lowther, who then delivered Mary to Lord Scrofe who took her onward to Carlisle Castle where she would begin 19 years of imprisonment. She finally died by execution in Northamptonshire in 1587, aged 44.   Information courtesy of : The Tudor Chronicles - - - o o o - - -

Cockermouth Castle saw some action in the English Civil War being besieged and then relieved in 1649. The Castle had been under the control of a Parliamentary force at this time. Given its parlous state by then anyway, what little of the defences that were left after this action were further destroyed in 1650.   - - - o o o - - -	It can be presumed that they carried out this destruction in order to stop the castle being used by any Royalist force advancing out of Scotland under Charles II King of Scotland. It sounds like the castle as a building had a really rough time ! Information courtesy of : The Edge Guide - - - o o o - - -

Subsequently Cockermouth Castle was an important administrative centre for the area

and as an official, William Wordsworth's father must have worked within these walls. 

It is thought that young William and his siblings must have been very familiar with the castle, having played here as children.

The newest buildings (marked as offices on the plan) date from the 1850's and the stables were subsequently updated in the 1920's

This shows how the castle, though beaten about after the Scots incursions and the English Civil Wars,

still survived as an important building and family stronghold.