Moated site of Wolsty Castle

Heritage listing

Details The monument includes the moated site of Wolsty Castle. It is located on flat land close to the present coastline and approximately 7km west of Holme Cultram Abbey, and includes an island or platform surrounded by a dry moat which in turn is flanked by traces of an outer bank. The island measures c.40m square and contains many earthworks and undulations which indicate a combination of structural foundations of the medieval castle and stone robbing trenches. There are two upstanding blocks of mortared masonry, one on the north and one on the south side of the island and each about 1.5m high, which show that the castle's curtain wall was over 2m thick. The surrounding moat measures 20m-30m wide by 1.5m deep and is flanked by an outer bank 5m-10m wide wide and up to 0.4m high. There are faint traces of an outlet channel at the moat's south east corner. Wolsty Castle was constructed during the first half of the 14th century as protection for Holme Cultram Abbey which had been pillaged by the Scots under Alexander II in 1216 and Robert Bruce in 1322. The castle received a licence to crenellate in 1348 and was occupied by the Chamber family, one of whom, Robert, was the Abbot of Holm Cultram. By 1572 the castle was in decay and documentary sources indicate that the hall, chamber, the evidence house, the kitchen, the peat house, byre and stable were ruinous. Repair work was undertaken during the 1630s but by the latter half of the 17th century the castle had been demolished and its stone taken for reuse in Carlisle. A telegraph pole, and a modern field boundary on the monument's west side are excluded from the scheduling but the ground beneath these features is included. MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. Legacy The contents of t

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.