The Gatehouse website record for Lammerside Castle

In the civil parish of Wharton. In the historic county of Westmorland (Modern Authority of Cumbria, 1974 county of Cumbria).

Lammerside Castle is situated on the west bank of the River Eden, at the foot of a small slope. Very little is known of the history of Lammerside; the name `John de Lambyrsete' occurs in 1403 but without mention of property (CPR 1403 p280). The tower lies within Wharton Hall deer park which was certainly in existence by 1576 (Blackett-Ord); it seems unlikely that Lammerside was occupied after its creation. The upstanding remains of the tower, almost two storeys high, represent a reduced form of the original, as noted by authorities 2 and 3. In the north wall of the tower, part of a newel staircase is exposed. The room adjoining this side of the building measures 13.8m by 4.1m; the turf-covered banks which define it contain faced stone in places. There are no internal partitions visible; this and the survival of a small part of the eaves-line suggest that the room was a single storey hall. On the south side of the tower an area measuring 9.7m by 7.8m internally, enclosed by banks up to 2.6m wide and which contain faced and bonded stonework, may be the remains of a courtyard. Surrounding the tower there is evidence of other, less substantial buildings. To the east are the remains of four possible building platforms, the most definite of which measures 18.5m by 7.4m. There is another group of at least three rectangular building platforms about 30m south of the tower. The other prominent features of the site are the hedge banks of the surrounding enclosures which border a trackway going N-S past the tower and are probably contemporary with the castle. The largest of the enclosures is D-shaped and takes in most of the hill slope to the west of the tower. Its bank and external ditch are 7.6m wide overall. Three other hedge banks adjoin the D-shaped enclosure and continue in fields to the far west of the tower. In the north-east corner of this enclosure is a square compound about 24m by 26m internally. On the eastern side of the N-S trackway is another large enclosure with less well-defined banks but of similar length to the main enclosure and apparently extending all the way to the river. There is a possible corn-drying kiln immediately south of the last enclosure described. It is 5.0m by 5.8m overall and 1.1m deep; there is an opening at the front but no stonework is visible. (PastScape–ref. Lax, 1993)
It now appears that the standing remains here are in fact the remains of a simple building (one of many in the original manorial complex) that was later converted into a gatehouse by the Wharton family after driving the Warcops off their land. The walls are thin and there are a number of original windows at ground floor level. The only sign of any fortification or security here, is the presence of a door with a large draw bar tunnel....and even this may have been moved from its original location. If you look at aerial photos of the remains, the small rectangular earthworks that can be seen just in front of the ruins are now thought to be the footings of the original fortified building here....possibly a very narrow tower of some sort. There are also slight earthworks a little further to the South of the upstanding remains, which are now thought to be the site of the original hall, again destroyed by the Whartons when they drove the Warcops away. The whole site is surrounded by earthworks, possibly indicating the presence of a barmkyn or curtain wall surrounding the whole complex....very well defined on the Western side, with a ditch around three feet deep on the outside, and an earthern bank another two or three feet high on the inside. There are also the remains of a park pale running along side the line of the earthworks, rabbit warrens further along the river and the earthwork remains of a road running down to the River Eden to the West, along with the rubble remains of a bridge that would have spanned the river....all destroyed by the Whartons of Wharton hall nearby. It sounds as if the poor Warcop family were not only at odds with the Whartons, living some two miles to the North, but also with their neighbours the Cliffords at Pendragon some mile and a half to the South. (Matthew Emmott, 1-7-2009, pers. corr.)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NY77250477

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 14756
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 2002 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.