Penrith Castle
Encyclopedia
William Strickland (bishop)
William Strickland was an English priest and Bishop of Carlisle from 1400 until 1419. He was appointed by Pope Boniface IX, but not initially accepted by King Henry IV, although he did confirm the appointment after the chapter had elected him. He was consecrated on 15 August 1400...
who later become Bishop of Carlisle
Bishop of Carlisle
The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York.The diocese covers the County of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District...
. The castle is situated within the town of Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith, Cumbria
Penrith was an urban district between 1894 and 1974, when it was merged into Eden District.The authority's area was coterminous with the civil parish of Penrith although when the council was abolished Penrith became an unparished area....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
opposite the railway station.
The Castle was later developed by the Neville family and passed into the hands of the Crown and is thought to have been the sometime residence of King Richard III when he was Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester is a British royal title , often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England, the next in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; this current creation carries with it the...
and Lord Warden of the Marches Toward Scotland.
The castle and the town remained part of the Crown Estate until the reign of William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
who gave it and most other Crown property in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
to his friend Hans Willem Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. The castle eventually passed from the Earls and Dukes of Portland to the Dukes of Devonshire who sold it to the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway Company who built Penrith railway station
Penrith railway station
Penrith railway station is located on the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom. It serves the town of Penrith, Cumbria and is less than one mile from its centre...
. It later passed into the ownership of the Penrith Urban District Council, who in the 1920s converted the grounds into a public park and built housing nearby.
The castle is maintained now by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
.