In 1069, Llyulph de Greystoke was re-granted his land by the Normans, following
their conquest, and built a wooden tower surrounded by a pale (or pele) a wooden stockade. Eighteen
generations of de Greystokes lived in it until 1346, when King Edward III
gave permission to castellate the building and the Castle proper was created.
Anne Dacre, who had inherited the Castle and lands, married Thomas Howard,
4th Duke of Norfolk, in 1571. He had been sent north by the King to solve the Scottish
problem. Not only did Anne marry Thomas, but her three daughters were married to his
three sons.
The Castle was held for the King in the civil war and was destroyed by Cromwell
as a result in 1660. It lay fallow for about a generation and was then rebuilt
as a country house to a design by Salvin. At this point the Castle was also
enlarged and much work was done to the estate.
A fire largely destroyed the Castle in 1868 but it was rebuilt by Henry Howard,
using labour and materials from within the estate. Henry even returned some
money to his insurance company, saying he had been over-compensated.
The estate was commandeered by the army during World War 2 as a tank drivers’
training area and the Castle itself became a prisoner of war camp. The damage done
to both building and estate during this period was almost overwhelming.
Post-war, the process of restoration and modernisation was initiated and this
has continued ever since. Fourteen generations of the Howard family have lived
in the Castle thus far.
