Castles of Cumbria: #3 Kendal Castle Howe

Castle Howe is the site of Kendal's original, motte and bailey castle and can be found hidden between Beast Banks and Gillingate, tucked away behind buildings but easily accessed via a number of footpaths. It's about twenty minutes walk from the town centre. There's not much to see apart from the hump of the motte and evidence of defensive ditches. The remains of the bailey are now parkland.

Thoughtfully, there is a plaque showing an artist's impression of what the motte and bailey castle would have looked like in Norman times, with an exlanation of what a motte and bailey castle is and why there are so many around.

The monument on the top of the motte isn't a war memorial, but an obelisk commemmorating the centenary of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. I think it would be safe to assume that the monument wasn't erected by Jacobite sympathisers or Catholics.

There's a good view to be had across the valley where you can see Kendal's other castle on the hill opposite. You can almost imagine someone looking across at the tempting-looking mound of high ground commanding the river and thinking, "There's a good spot to build a nice stone castle over there. Shall we move? Should I nip down to Lancaster and obtain a 'Licence to Crenellate'?"

Castles of Cumbria: #2 Kendal Castle

Located as it is on the edge of the Lake District, many people believe that Kendal is in the Lake District. It isn't. Although the town houses the HQ of the Lake District National Park, Kendal itself is actually outside of the National Park boundary and so has to content itself with the old "Gateway To The Lakes" soubriquet. Certainly, the town deserves this description better than Morecambe, for example, that makes the same claim despite being at the end of a ten mile detour off the M6, 20 miles or so to the south. Some gateway. You can see the fells from the prom, I suppose; but I can see the fells too, out of my office window in Barrow and we don't make bogus claims to being a gateway to the lakes. Unless you arrive by sea, that is.

Still, poor old Morecambe has to try hard to attract visitors these days, so good luck to them. It attracts tourism, I suppose, but Kendal has the more powerful claim. It was, after all, the adopted home of the legendary Alfred Wainwright whose fellwalker's guides to the Lake District's fells are considered definitive.

But I digress (get used to it): Kendal can also boast of being home to not one but TWO castles. The site of the original Norman motte and bailey can be found at Castle Howe on the western, "town" side of the River Kent, but it's more obvious brother, Kendal castle, can be found on a hill overlooking the town tucked away behind the houses and business premises on the eastern side of the river.

Annoyingly, Kendal can also lay claim to the site of a Roman fort at Watercrook.

Now that's just greedy.

Here are some photos of Kendal castle. Although a greatly ruinous castle, walking up there stretches the legs, exercises the lungs and gets you away from the incessant traffic that weaves it's way through the tortuous one-way system.

Once up there, you are rewarded with some great views of the fells to the north and the town nestling in the valley below.

Castles of Cumbria: #1 Brougham Castle

So this is Brougham Castle, near Penrith in Cumbria. I'm told that it's pronounced "Broom", not the more intuitive "Bruffam". I'm glad I never had to ask directions for it, as I would have embarrassed myself.

Luckily, it's clearly visible right by the side of the A66 a couple of miles southeast of Penrith. You can't miss it. And it's well worth checking out if you like this sort of thing. You can even go up to the top of the keep via stairs.

I'd been wanting to visit this ruinous beauty for some time but you can only visit it between Easter and the end of summer.

The site is maintained by English Heritage, an admission fee may apply

The castle has been built on the corner of the platform of a former Roman Fort on a site overlooking the river Eamont. What is now the A66 has been a strategic East-West route of the Pennines for millenia and it is no surprise that there are various castles and forts dotted along the route and the adjacent Eden Valley: There are castles to be seen at Brough, Penrith, Appleby (not ruined, still occupied but in private hands) and various other obscure and enigmatic piles of rubble in the area.

Anyway, Brougham. Here are some photos I took:

Here, a poorly-dressed man can be seen, preventing people from entering the gatehouse. He seems to be pointing out the runners for the portcullis.











These medieval stonemasons certainly knew what they were doing:


The Keep:

This is a view from upstairs inside the keep, looking out towards one of the numerous arrow slits

Don't worry if you don't have a head for heights - there are railings! I presume there were floors in the olden days.


Note the well in the courtyard: Handy when you're being besieged by marauding Scots. Under normal circumstances, some nice running water from the nearby River Eamont will do the trick - ideal for thwarting cholera and all manner of delightful medieval diseases.



And at the bottom, looking up...


Mindless vandalism isn't the sole preserve of modern times. There are a number of places within the castle where graffiti has been carved into the stonework, very neatly in some instances:

The Great Hall:

Of course, by the Tudor era castles were, by and large, obsolete. As threats internal and external receded, the ruling classes preferred to live in grand houses and halls rather than draughty old castles. Brougham fell into ruin. That is until in one last hurrah, Brougham castle was actually restored by the amazing Lady Anne Clifford. It was only after she died that the castle finally fell into total decay.

Check out the Countess Pillar close to the castle right by the A66 on the westbound side.

Richard Hawley Review

Excitement! I went through to Manchester last week to see Mr Richard Hawley at the Bridgewater Hall; alone, unfortunately, due to MrsW succumbing to the ague, or was it croup?

Anyway, she wasn't at all well, certainly not well enough for driving duties, so I was forced to travel through to Manchester alone; on the train; to the BIG CITY.


I booked a last minute room online at the Jury's Inn just around the corner from the hall and I arrived to find the entire area covered in traffic cones and crawling with police and the enevitable security dressed in obligatory High Visibility Tabards. The reason for this high level of security was something to do with "Call Me Dave" Cameron's mob’s annual blue-rinse rally at the GMEX opposite. I knew I should have taken my grenade launcher.


Having checked into my room and had a cup of tea (rock and roll!), I made my way round to the Bridgewater and hung around in the lobby waiting for Elbow Room Only's very own "nellie" and her other half. MrsW had arranged for me to pick up some binoculars that nellie had borrowed on a previous occasion.


I have to say, it was good bumping into some fellow forum members again, and this made for a more enjoyable evening for me, being on my own and all that. Thanks to both of them for indulging my propensity to rattle on and for meeting up at the interval for drinks.

Unfortunately, the gig wasn’t quite a sell-out and I couldn’t return my spare ticket to the box office. Market forces being what they are, there didn’t appear to be any touts outside either: I don’t know whether it was the fact that the night wasn’t a total sell-out or whether it was the heavy police presence or what, but the usual scally touts were nowhere to be seen.

So I was stuck with an unused ticket, sadly!


Anyway. The support act were a group called the Smoke Fairies who I'd never heard of. Basically they consisted of two indie-folk lasses playing guitar and harmonising in a very fey fashion backed up by a tall hippy violinist and a minimalist drummer: His contributions to some songs amounted to little more than the odd muted flourish and he could have easily spent large portions of their set reading a book or enjoying a cup of tea or something. They were listenable enough, although I doubt whether I'll ever buy anything by them. Not really my thing.


As for Richard Hawley, the concert was primarily a showcase for the beautiful gloom of his new album, Truelove's Gutter. Having acquired the album a couple of days previously I was familiar enough with the work to appreciate it. I'm glad I wasn't expecting a "greatest hits" package otherwise I would have been disappointed. As it happens, he did play plenty of old faves in the end, though not any of the obvious "hits".


Here's the setlist for the evening:


As The Dawn Breaks (Truelove's Gutter)
Ashes On The Fire (Truelove's Gutter)
Lady Solitude (Lady's Bridge)
Hotel Room (Cole's Corner)
Soldier On (Truelove's Gutter)
Happy Birthday (to John Trier)
The Sea Calls (Lady's Bridge)
Tonight (Cole's Corner)
Open Up Your Door (Truelove's Gutter)
For Your Lover Give Some Time (Truelove's Gutter)
Remorse Code (Truelove's Gutter)
Run For Me (Lowedges)
Don't You Cry (Truelove's Gutter)
---------------------------------
Don't Get Hung Up In Your Soul (Truelove's Gutter)
The Ocean(Cole's Corner)


A fantastic set, punctuated by Mr Hawley's usual acerbic, dry wit and foul mouth; very much at odds with his 50's throwback crooner persona.


Personal highlight for me was Don't Get Hung Up In Your Soul, featuring the very wonderful multi-instrumentalist David Coulter on eerie bowed saw.


I particularly admired his good-natured put-downs of one particularly enthusiastic female heckler. One exchange went thus:


Loud Woman: "I NEED to dance!"

Richard Hawley: "Well f**king dance then!"


Well, it made me laugh.


All in all, an amazing concert in an acoustically perfect Bridgewater Hall. And I bought some quite wonderful Henderson's Relish from the merchandise table. I'll be putting a dash in practically everything for several months otherwise I'll never be rid of the stuff. Think Worcestershire sauce, but less piquant.

My First Blog by Wrenmeister, aged 45 3/4

And so to blog. I've finally decided to start blogging.

I hope to make you laugh a little, cry a little, maybe even make you think a little - what's that from? - I've got many boring and anal things to share, such as my ongoing project to write dull things about the castles of Cumbria to make use of all the photos I've accrued of various ruins.

I also have about 200 photos I took in Belgium...I'm not selling this very well, am I?

I may do a history of pastry at some point.

Riveting stuff.