Dacre Castle, Medieval tower house in Dacre, England
Dacre Castle is a medieval sandstone tower house in the village of Dacre, Cumbria, surrounded on three sides by a moat. The square structure has a round turret at each corner, topped with battlements, and stands on fairly flat ground near open countryside.
The castle dates to around 1350, built by Margaret Multon as a fortified home during a time when raids from Scotland were common in this part of northern England. Over the following centuries it passed through several families and was altered more than once without losing its basic tower form.
The name Dacre comes from an Old English word referring to a stream nearby. The four corner turrets and the thick sandstone walls still give the place the look of a fortified home built to keep people out.
The castle is privately owned and sits in the small village of Dacre, southwest of Penrith in Cumbria. Access to the interior is not generally open to the public, so it is worth checking in advance before making a visit.
Four carved stone bears stand at the corners of the churchyard in the nearby village, and local tradition has long linked them to the castle's history, though no one knows for certain where they came from. Their age and purpose remain a topic of debate among those who study the area.
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