Hartley Castle

Hartley Castle was a castle near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England.

1. History

The manor was confiscated c. 1315 from Roger de Clifford and granted to Andrew de Harcla (anglicized to Andrew de Harclay or Hartley). The name Harcla is thought to be from the Old English for "hard ground" and may refer to the outcrop of land that the castle is built upon in the Eden valley. The existing manor house was fortified by de Harcla, some time prior to 1323, when he was ordered by King Edward II to be hanged, drawn and quartered for alleged collusion with Robert the Bruce, and forfeited his earldom and lands. It was granted to Ralph de Neville who later sold it through three other hands to Thomas de Musgrave who on 4 October 1353 was granted a licence to crenellate by King Edward III:

mansum manerii ... Harcla quod prope Marchiam Scociae situatur et per Scotos inimicos nostros saepius ante haec tempora combustum extitit et destructum which roughly speaking says fortification was needed because Harcla is situated near the Scottish Marches and because our enemy the Scots have often burned and destroyed it. It was improved during the 17th century with the addition in 1615 of a pair of wings but was abandoned circa 1677. Thomas Machel visited the castle in 1677 and described it as

An Elizabethan building consisting of an inner quadrangle surrounded by buildings, and an outer court to the north protected by a thick and high curtain wall. The entrance to it was approached through a gateway at the head of a flight of steps from the road. Directly opposite an archway opened into the inner court; on the left, or east side, was the kitchen and buttery, with the hall beyond, entered by an external stair from the court; the south end was occupied by the chapel and withdrawing rooms; whilst on the western side there was a long gallery lighted by a large oriel window facing the quadrangle

Another sketch from 1692 shows a thick, high curtain wall enclosing a square outer court, with an inner court enclosed by three and four storey buildings. The image at right shows what remained by the beginning of the 18th century. It was demolished between 1704 and 1744 for building stone which was used to repair Edenhall. The castle layout appears to have been similar to Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds, with its double courtyards separated by a low dividing wall and a central small door and its oriel-windowed hall, but without Sudeley's later Southern Wing and with a curtain wall demarking the second courtyard instead.

1. Today

Apart from limited earthworks, all that remains now is a few metres of wall and stairs down to a vaulted cellar for the former kitchen. The site currently houses a late-18th-century farmhouse and outbuildings.

1. See also

Listed buildings in Hartley, Cumbria Castles in Great Britain and Ireland List of castles in England Sudeley Castle

1. References


1. External links

English Heritage's entry for Hartley Castle The castle site's area as it appears from the air An aerial photo of the castle's site and Hartley village A photo of the remains of the castle (requires registration)

Nearby Places View Menu

Hartley, Cumbria

Hartley is a village and civil parish in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. It is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) east of Kirkby Stephen. The area has many old lead and copper mines that are now abandoned as well as a large quantity of iron haematite, ironstone and ore. At the highest peak in Hartley stand nine obelisks referred to as "Nine Standards". Nobody knows the true purpose of the "Nine Standards" although some believe that they were used to create a sense of a forthcoming army to scare the enemy forces. However, it is more widely believed that they were placed as geographical aid to help outline the borders between the two neighbouring counties, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Hartley is also home to Hartley Castle. It was originally built as a "tower house circa 1353 and extended circa 1600" and then re- developed in the 18th century. The castle was built at the southern point of Hartley. In the 1870s, Hartley was described as: Hartley, a township in Kirkby-Stephen parish, Westmoreland; 1 mile SE of Kirkby-Stephen. Acres, 3, 350. Real property, with Winton, £4, 159. Pop., 215. Houses, 45. Hartley Castle stood on an eminence; belonged to successively the Veteriponts, the Hartleys, the Nevilles, and the Musgraves; and was demolished in the early part of the 18th century. The township is mountainous; includes Hartley fell; and contains coal, lead, and copper

Castle Historic Site

Stainmore Railway Company

Stainmore Railway Company is a volunteer-run, non-profit preservation company formed in 2000 with the aim of restoring Kirkby Stephen East railway station in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England. In 1997 a company called Stainmore Properties Ltd. was formed, with the intention to convert KSE into an authentic North Eastern Railway focused heritage centre representing the early 1950s. The Stainmore Railway Company was subsequently formed to restore the site. Since then essential repairs have been made to the roof and station, a number of rooms have been restored and a short section of track has been laid along the formation of the old Eden Valley Railway, with some sidings and yard infrastructure within the station area and surroundings. A quantity of rolling stock that is authentic to the site has also been brought in. The station was formerly on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway, and was also the eastern terminus of the Eden Valley Railway. The company has re-instated approximately a third of a mile (0.54km) of running line on the former Eden Valley Railway formation to allow train running. There is the eventual aim of joining up with the heritage Eden Valley Railway (at Warcop). August 2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the railway. To commemorate this occasion a series of events were held during 2011, leading up to 'Stainmore 150', a large gala, where Steve Davis, the then-head of the National Railway Museum, drove the first fare-paying passenger train from the station in over 50 years, hauled by ex. Kirkby Stephen locomotive BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0 no. 78019. In 2013 the Stainmore Railway Company began its first operating season, running Peckett and Sons 0-4-0 'F C Tingey' on selected weekends. In 2014 this was joined by Yorkshire Engine Company 'Stanton 50' which operates diesel hauled trains on some weekends when there is no steam service. In June 2017 it was announced that a joint Heritage Lottery Fund bid between the Stainmore Railway Company and the Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust, to restore both LNER J21 65033 and an ex. North Eastern Railway stores van, no. 5523, as an interpretation vehicle to travel with the locomotive, had been successful. As part of the joint bid, it was agreed that, once restoration is completed, the locomotive will be based at Kirkby Stephen East and become the project's flagship locomotive. As a result of this, work is currently underway to create a vastly more flexible track layout within the station yard, as well as building a new restoration shed and authentic locomotive watering facilities. Part of the new work means that a short stretch of the former South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway formation across Bridge 149 has been re-instated.

Landmark Train

Kirkby Stephen

Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It lies on the A685 and is surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about 25 miles (40 km) from the nearest larger towns, Kendal and Penrith. The River Eden rises 6 miles (10 km) away in the peat bogs below Hugh Seat and passes the eastern edge of the town. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,832. In 2011, it had a population of 1,822. The name Kirkby derives from the Old Norse kirkju-býr meaning 'village with a church'. The Stephen part of the name is thought to derive from either the church (which may have previously been dedicated to St Stephen) or from a medieval abbot called Stephen.

Church Landmark

Kirkby Stephen Parish Church

Kirkby Stephen Parish Church is a parish church of the Church of England, located in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria. The church is sometimes called "St Stephen's Church", possibly by analogy to the name of the town, but there is no evidence of a formal dedication to Saint Stephen. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Church Landmark