Pendragon Castle, Cumbria

Commanding an impressive view over the Eden Valley, stand the remains of Pendragon castle, thought to be constructed during the reign of William II in the twelfth century by Ranulph de Meschines, Although the the keep dates to Norman times, the Garderobe Turret (toilet) dates from the fourteenth century.

 

 

Legend suggests that a much earlier Pendragon Castle on this site belonged to Uther Pendragon, father of  the legendary King Arthur. According to the legend, Uther had attempted to re-route the River Eden to create a moat for the castle.

An ancient rhyming couplet reads;

“Let Uther Pendragon do what he can, Eden will run where Eden ran.”

Other stories tell of tragedy, when Saxon invaders poisoned the well, leading to the death of Uther Pendragon and a hundred of his men.

No archealogical evidence has been found to suggest Dark Age settlement, although a couple of Roman coins have been discovered on the site.

 

 

Over it’s lifetime, the Castle has had many famous and infamous owners, one being Hugh de Morville, a knight responsible for the murder of St. Thomas A’Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.

Robert de Veteripont became the next owner and then Lady Ideona de Veteripont who also founded the nearby church of St. Mary at Outhgill. A later inheritance saw the castle passed on to Robert de Leyburn before becoming the property of  the wealthy Robert de Clifford, who acquired a licence to the crenalate the castle in 1309. When he was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the castle passed to his son, Roger.

 

 

In 1341 the castle was destroyed by a raiding Scottish army but was rebuilt in 1360. Disaster struck again in 1541, when fire left Pendragon castle in ruins.  It was not until the mid seventeenth century that the castle was restored to it’s former glory by Lady Anne Clifford. Following Lady Anne’s death in 1676, the Earl of Thanet, removed anything of value, including the lead from the roof and again left the castle to the ravages of nature.

 

Some recent work has been carried out to prop up some of the structure and to install a set of wooden steps to lead to what is left of the first level.

If you visit this site, please be aware that it is on private land and that animals are grazing around the castle.

 

OS Grid Ref:- NY 782025

Charter Stone – Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria

Kirkby Stephen, situated a few miles off the main A66 in the Upper Eden Valley has a long heritage and a number of things to look out for if you visit.

Towards the southern end of Market Street is the Charter Stone.

Situated outside a food store, to the left as you travel south, is a circular stone embedded into the pavement edge from where the start of Luke fair was proclaimed.

A plaque, possibly made from brass, stands alongside and reads.

CHARTER STONE
Luke Fair ( Oct 27) established 1350
Proclaimed from here.

The Kirkby Stephen Town Luke Fair Charter, reaffirmed in 1605 by James l, granted the right to hold a fair on 27 October, ‘the eve and the morrow’ each year and a market each week.

The fair is so named because of it being held  St. Luke’s day.

St Luke’s day is celebrated on the 18th October. It is traditionally a day when girls could have some insight into their future marriage prospects. 

He was one of the four Gospel writer’s and is the patron saint of doctors.

The Northern Viaducts – Upper Eden Valley

Starting at Hartley Quarry on the outskirts of Kirkby Stephen the history trail follows the trackbed of the former Stainmore Railway crossing the two viaducts of Podgill and Merrygill.

Being a former railway line the path is well drained and  ideal for wheelchairs, horses, cyclists and walkers. It is a permissive right of way.

The route is owned by the Northern Viaduct Trust.

Set up in 1989 to to acquire, restore and maintain the spectacular Smardale Gill viaduct near Ravenstonedale the Trust then moved on to this second project and has created a circular walk which takes in some spectacular views and has preserved some of our Cumbrian heritage.

Passing the noticeboards that give a history and brief overview of the project you arrive at one end of the Merrygill Viaduct.

With a total length of 366ft, 9 arches built from local limestone span the Hartley Beck valley.

Originally being one track wide it cost just over £3k to build and it is over 70ft from the beck below.

Work to widen the viaduct to two tracks was completed around 1892.

The restoration of this viaduct cost around £50k  and was completed in 2005.

Children and animals are protected from the view as the high stone sides offer great natural security.

With the gradient of the walk sloping gently downhill you find a former platelayers hut to your right.  Pictures from former times when the railway was in full usage are displayed on the walls along with the history of the area.

Hartley Quarry is a good source of high quality limestone and operations were started in 1925 by Sir Hedworth Williamson’s Limeworks Ltd. 

During the Second World War the limestone was needed in ever greater amounts for the steel industry and as a ground powder to improve fields for food production.  This work at the quarry became a reserved occupation as it was essential to the war efforts.

Two lime-burning kilns were in operation at the quarry upto 1996.

As you continue along the path you may spot some out of season flowers or other quirks of nature.  

The high, sheltered sides of the railway cuttings have created a unique micro climate.  

Trees, planted along the edge of the embankments, create a canopy from harsh sunlight and are helping to trap self seeding plants and no doubt sustaining animals and insects.

The gentle walk continues towards the next viaduct, Podgill.

You could continue straight across the bridge however to your right is a steep set of steps to some picnic tables and a great view back up underneath the viaduct.  A word of caution here is needed as these steps are steep so please take care.

If you do venture down to the bottom of the viaduct you will be able to see the full glory of this local limestone construction.

Originally only 12 feet wide between parapets for single track, it was built by contractors Chambers & Hilton at a cost of £6,189.

Sir Thomas Bouch was the engineer on this project and the Merrygill viaduct visited earlier.

He was born at Thursby in North Cumbria and is best known for his work on the Tay Bridge in Scotland.

When the Podgill viaduct was widened, around 1890, a new, almost identical, viaduct was built alongside the existing, to which the new structure was tied.  You can still see the join if you look up from below.

Podgill Viaduct was acquired by the Northern Viaduct Trust direct from the British Rail Property Board in 2000.

As you continue along the upper path another platelayers hut comes into view. Here you will find details of the hayday of the railways in this area.

The South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway, connecting the Eastern coalfields to the Western iron ore and the evolution of the many single rail companies into the larger railway boards is all explained using maps, photographs and text.

Art meets industy

Keep your eyes alert as your journey continues because hidden in the woods is some heavyweight art.

The Poetry Path comes into contact with your railway walk as large carved stones appear.

Depicting a year in the life of a hill farmer. The Poetry Path is a celebration of the hill farmer’s ancient and enduring relationship with the beautiful landscape in and around the upper Eden valley.

Twelve short poems written by local poet Meg Peacocke have been carved by lettering artist Pip Hall into blocks of stone.

Further details of this trail are available below.  

You are almost at the end of this trail as your route now takes you back towards Kirkby Stephen  however one last delight remains.

From the approach you see the bright blue railings and can hear what sounds like steam escaping from the trains of former years, but as you cross the Millennium Bridge you are in for a surprise.

Below you is the bubbling and dramatic River Eden on its way towards Carlisle and the sea.

The bridge was designed by local civil engineer, Charles Blackett-Ord.

It is constructed of galvanised steel with a pre-cast concrete deck and a span of 65ft.

This spectacular bridge provides the access between Stenkrith Park at the south end of Kirkby Stephen, to the trackbed of the former railway which forms the footpath to Hartley from where you have just walked.

 

Further information

The Northern Viaducts Trust brochure can be found via  -  Exploring the Eden Viaducts - leaflet NVT

Further details on the walk and the trail are via  - Walks Guide - Kirkby Stephen

Details about the Poetry Path are via  - Kirkby Stephen Poetry Path