20
members of Orton and Tebay Local history Society met at
Lowther Castle for an evening at Lowther Castle and Gardens. Our guide
was
Joseph Jackson who met us in the walled courtyard to start the tour on
a warm
and sunny evening.
The
Lowthers are one of the oldest knighted families in
England, Sir Hugh de Lowther being the first, in the time of Edward I,
and was
granted land at Lowther. Every successive head of the Lowther family
through
the Middle Ages was knighted and served in parliament and as peers for
600
years. They were keen sportsmen and enjoyed horses, shooting and
boxing. They
gave their name to the prize Lonsdale Belt for boxing.
The
1st Viscount of Lonsdale, John, re-built
Lowther Hall and was responsible for the extensive gardens that you can
see the
outlines of today. He had the original Lowther village re-built and
moved so
that it was no longer within the view of the castle. James, 1st
Earl
of Lonsdale was one of the richest men in England because of his
inheritance.
He used his money for political influence and was known as “wicked
Jimmy”. The
5th Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh, was the most famous
and was known as the
“Yellow Earl” because of his love of yellow. He is the reason why the
AA use
yellow on their signs and all of his cars were yellow. It was during
his
occupation that the castle had its biggest profile with visitors such
as Queen
Victoria, Kaiser Bill, and Wordsworth, as well as prime ministers,
spending
time at Lowther.
Lowther Castle also played its parts in the two world wars. In 1914 Lord Lonsdale formed the Lonsdale Pals. Over 1300 men volunteered and by 1915 they were sent to France. The men were mostly farmers and shop keepers and they spent the next few months fighting in the trenches. In 1916 they lost over 500 men and surviving members were deployed to other battalions. The Lonsdale Battalion was no more and their colours rest in Lowther Church.
In 1941 Lowther Castle was requisitioned by the War Office to development top secret anti-tank weapons. Apparently evidence of this can still bee seen in the grounds as well as on the turrets at the front of the building. It was at this time that Sir Winston Churchill was a visitor to Lowther Castle
This impressive
looking building was designed by Robert
Smirke and built between 1806 and 1814 and cost £70,000. The front of
the
building is castellated but the back looks more like a Cathedral and
originally
had stained glass windows. |
![]() The back of Lowther Castle with the new gardens |
![]() Central Tower |
The whole is a Gothic revival with its central tower the main supporting structure with similar design principles to the flying buttresses used in many Cathedrals. This is really a country mansion on a grand scale. Unbelievably it had underfloor heating generated with boilers pushing hot steam through large pipes round the ground floor of the house. |
![]() Orangery Floor with
Heating Pipes
|
Hugh
Lowther was the last occupant of Lowther Castle and
when he died in 1944 his son Lancelot inherited the building, estates
and
debts. Lancelot had to sell many of the treasures to settle the bills
and
inheritance tax. When Lancelot died in 1953 he was succeeded by his
grandson
James. James did not want the building and wanted to concentrate on the
farms
and estates. He offered the building to local authorities but no one
wanted it.
It had stood empty for many years and the grounds had been damaged by
the army
occupation. Eventually James had the roof removed so that taxes did not
have to
be paid on it and this majestic building was left as a ruin.
Today
the building is being made safe and stabilised with
money from the Heritage Lottery Fund so that people can come and learn
its
history and enjoy its magnificent surroundings.
A very interesting and enjoyable evening in beautiful surroundings.