Peveril Castle

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Peak; Pechefers; Peak's Arse; Peverel's; Castleton; Castle of the Peke

In the civil parish of Castleton. In the historic county of Derbyshire (Modern Authority of Derbyshire, 1974 county of Derbyshire).

The ruins of a medieval keep castle predominantly dating from C11 to C14. Among the first of the Norman castles to be built in England after the Conquest and granted to William Peveril, who was thought to have been an illegitimate son of William I and one of his most trusted knights. The castle stands in an impregnable position on a clifftop above the town of Castleton, but predates the town by about 100 years. In 1080 Peveril fortified the site and constructed a wooden keep, but later these buildings were converted into stone. The square keep and part of the curtain wall are still standing and the outer bailey is still visible. Part of the north wall dates from C11, but the remainder is C12 to C14. The castle fell into disuse during the early C15 and was never adapted for domestic use. Only the keep was in use by the C17 as a courthouse. When this was abandoned the castle gradually became ruined until restoration work during C20. The present stone keep, built by Henry II in 1176, survives almost to its full height. Inside the courtyard it is possible to trace the foundations of a Great Hall, kitchens and other domestic buildings. The castle forms the backdrop to Sir Walter Scott's novel "Peveril of the Peak". (PastScape)
Although the main function of this castle must have been as a base for hunting in the Peak forest, and administration of the local lead mining industry, a question to be addressed is the reason for choosing the specific site. Originally it was built in a very isolated site with no settlement (Castleton was founded rather later as a new borough - The saxon centre of the region was the village of Hope, where a small ringwork still survives q.v.). The position is naturally strong but this is an area of many strong natural sites, some of which had earlier defences (i.e. Mam Tor). I wonder if the impressive Peak's Arse cavern, above which the castle directly stands, had some particular significance (Henry of Huntingdon, writing in the 1130's made this cave the foremost wonder of the Britsh Isles - (Ref. Orme, Nicholas, July 2008, 'Place and Past in Medieval England' History Today Vol58(7) p27). I propose the castle was founded here, as a personal choice of William Peveril, to show Norman domination over this important natural feature. (I haven't read Barnwell's 2007 paper but I suspect this say much the same thing with rather more authority)

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 82553)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SK14948260

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 309632
Further information may be available from the holder of the county Historic Environment Record. In particular '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, or elsewhere.

• Web site links
  • http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/conProperty.68
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2788581
    http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/kirk6479/mycustompage0017.htm
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/110/peverilcastle.htm
    http://www.ecastles.co.uk/peveril.html
    http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/adv_reference.asp?imageUID=76618
    http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/hopev/peveril.htm
• Books
  • Salter, Mike, 2002, The Castles of the East Midlands (Malvern) p24-6
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p51
    Smith, Michael E., 1992, Castles and Manor Houses in and around Derbyshire (Derby)
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol1 p110
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p275
    Pevsner, Nikolaus revised by Elizabeth Williamson, 1978, Buildings of England: Derbyshire (Harmondsworth) p200-1
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p776-7
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p182-3
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Gotch, J. Alfred, 1909, The Growth of the English House (London: Batsford) p13-20
    Cox, 1905, in Page, Wm (ed), VCH Derbyshire Vol1 p379-80
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p473-5
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol3 (London) p86-90
    Lysons, D. and S., 1817, Magna Britannia Vol5 Derbyshire p. ccxxxvi [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=405]
    King, Edward, 1799-1805, Munimenta antiqua or Observations on ancient castles (W.Bulmer and Co) Vol4 p213-20
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol1 p55
• Journal Articles
  • Barnwell, P.S., 2007, 'The power of Peak Castle: cultural contexts and changing perceptions' Journal of the British Archaeological Association Vol160 p20-38
    Anon, 2004, 'Greater Access at Peveril Castle' CSG Newsletter Vol6 Issue1 p2
    Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106 p371-392 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28199104%29106%3A419%3C371%3AAHOCRI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Q
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 p249-280 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p90-121] http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-8266%28195904%2974%3A291%3C249%3AALOC1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P
    Himsworth, J.B.,1956, 'Peveril Castle Stones, Castleton.' Derbyshire Archaeological Journal Vol76
    Brown, R. Allen, 1955, 'Royal Castle-building in England 1154-1216' English Historical Review Vol70 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press)] pp19-64
    Kirke, H., 1906, 'Peverel's Castle in the Peak.' Derbyshire Archaeological Journal Vol28 p134-46
    Armitage, E., 1904 April, 'The Early Norman Castles of England' The English Historical Review Vol19 p209-245, 417-455 http://www.archive.org/stream/englishhistorica19londuoft
    St John Hope, W.H., 1889, 'The Castle of the Peak, and the Pipe Rolls.' Derbyshire Archaeological Journal Vol11 p120-6
    Hartshorne, C.H., 1848, 'Peverll's castle in the Peak' Archaeological Journal Vol5 p207-16
    King, Edward, 1782, 'Sequel to the observations on Ancient Castles' Archaeologia Vol6 p247-54
• Guidebooks
  • Eales, R., 2006, Peveril Castle (London: English Heritage)
    1999, Peveril Castle Colour Handbook (London: English Heritage)
    Spicer, Suzanne, 1994, Peveril Castle (London: English Heritage)
    Morley, Beric, 1990, Peveril Castle (London: English Heritage)
    Apted, M., 1985, Peveril Castle (London: English Heritage)
    O'Neil, B.H.St.J. and White, P.R., 1985, Peveril Castle (London: English Heritage)
    O'Neil, B.H.St.J. and White, P.R., 1979 2edn, Peveril Castle (HMSO)
    O'Neil, B.H.St.J., 1950 [improved edn], Peveril Castle (HMSO)
    O'Neil, B.H.St.J., 1934, Peveril Castle (HMSO)
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Rickard, John, 2002, The Castle Community. The Personnel of English and Welsh Castles, 1272-1422 (Boydell Press) [lists sources for 1272-1422] p168-70
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/lincseng.html#derb9]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p101