Muncaster Castle



Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the Esk river, about a mile east of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria, England. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.

History
Muncaster Castle is owned by the Pennington family, who have lived at Muncaster for at least 800 years. The Muncaster estate was granted to Alan de Penitone in 1208. The oldest parts of the castle include the Great Hall and the 14th century pele tower, a type of watch-tower fortification unique to the English-Scottish border region. It is suspected that the site of the castle lies on foundations dating to the Roman era, which, if they exist, may relate to the nearby Roman fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass. The placename "Muncaster" contains the Latin word castra, meaning "encampment", or "fort".

Between 1860 and 1866 Anthony Salvin extensively remodelled Muncaster Castle. Muncaster includes beautiful gardens, an owl sanctuary, a maze, and reportedly a resident ghost.