Pendragon Castle has long been associated with Arthurian legend.
Local tradition claims that Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur, built a fortress here and attempted to divert the River Eden around the site to create a moat.
While the story remains an important part of the castle’s identity, the surviving ruins date from the Norman period.
”Let Uther Pendragon do what he can, Eden will run where Eden ran.
The legend gave rise to the well-known local saying
The castle is believed to have been built around 1170 by Hugh de Morville, one of the four knights involved in the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.
After de Morville’s lands were forfeited, ownership passed through several noble families before eventually becoming associated with the powerful Clifford family.
Around 1300, Robert de Clifford enlarged the castle, constructing a hall in the south-west corner and strengthening the existing defences.
Pendragon became one of several Clifford strongholds across northern England and remained in the family’s ownership for centuries.
In 1333 the castle had its finest hour when Balliol, King of Scotland was entertained there by Idonea and Isabella Veteripont. Idonea described it as “her chief and beloved habitation”
The castle suffered repeated damage during the Anglo-Scottish conflicts:
The castle’s most celebrated owner was Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676), one of England’s most remarkable aristocratic women.
When she came north to her estates in 1649, she found Pendragon roofless and uninhabitable. Following years of restoration work, she repaired the castle in 1660 and recorded many visits in her famous diaries.
Lady Anne also restored several other northern castles, including Skipton, Brough and Brougham, preserving important historic buildings that might otherwise have been lost.
Following Lady Anne’s death, her Grandson, the Earl of Thanet, removed the roof from the castle. Although the building remained largely intact when Samuel and Nathaniel Buck produced their famous engraving in 1739, it gradually declined over the following two centuries.
Stone was removed for local building projects, weather took its toll, and parts of the structure eventually collapsed, including the east wall of the Great Hall during the 1930s.
A new chapter began in the 1960s when Pendragon Castle and its surrounding fields were purchased by Dr Raven Frankland of Bowberhead, Ravenstonedale, together with members of his family.
Determined to preserve the ruin, Raven Frankland, his wife Juliet, friends and local workers spent more than thirty years excavating around the castle, consolidating fragile masonry and revealing previously hidden architectural details.
Working closely with heritage authorities, including English Heritage, they uncovered the original entrance to the castle and exposed much of the fine medieval stonework visible today.
Their efforts transformed Pendragon from an overgrown ruin into an accessible historic site for visitors to enjoy.
