Tuesday 6 May 2008

Walking Past Peveril

Once off the moors we walk past the remains of Peveril Castle which stands in an impregnable position on a clifftop above Castleton. It is an stunning place, with an impressive view in all directions and sufficient ruined remains to get a good idea of how the castle looked in its heyday. The castle bears the name of William Peveril, who was granted the title of bailiff of the Royal Manors of the Peak - in effect the King's agent for the Royal Forest of the Peak - after the Norman conquest of 1066. Peveril is thought to have been the illegitimate son of King William I.


Peveril created Castleton and in 1080 he fortified the site of the present castle and constructed a wooden keep. Later, these buildings were converted into stone. The castle fell into disuse after Tudor times, and by the 17th century only the keep was in use - as a courthouse. When this was abandoned the castle gradually became ruined until what remained was restored this last century.

More here on Peveril Castle


4 comments:

Tom said...

I have walked past this place myself a few times and in a certain light it can look a bit scary.. I also remember both Ben and Sam my sons doing home work on this from school years ago.

dot said...

I'm with Tom on this...it's scary looking! I wonder if you are allowed to go right into the ruins.

Anonymous said...

Nice photos, Peter.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Pete: What a wonderful look at the old castle. Very nice capture of the raven in front of the tower. Great history Pete.